Magia Logica
by Kmouxe
Summary: Princess Namine and her loyal knight Aqua are thrust into a world parallel to their own, yet utterly different. This new world, unlike their home that flowed with magic, was governed solely by logic. When the girls are ruthlessly pursued by one of Namine's suitor's mothers (and another clueless suitor), It is up to Ventus and his brother Terra to protect them. Based off 'Enchanted'
1. Prologue: Once Upon a Time

_There is a legend, that once, long ago, the worlds of Logic and Magic existed together in harmony. But as time progressed, Logic began to fear the Magic, thinking it's mystery and wonder too dangerous and powerful to exist. As such, those of Logic turned on those of Magic, shunning them and rejecting their age-old mystics. Soon thereafter, Logic began to attack magic, deeming it to be evil, and chased it far away. Magic, with nowhere else to run, hid themselves from Logic, to protect themselves. Eventually Logic forgot about Magic, and the more Magic they forgot about, the less they believed. It's existence became nothing more than myth to the people of Logic. Then, the unthinkable happened. The worlds of Magic and Logic separated, their connection severed eternally. And just as the people of Logic forgot about Magic, memories of Logic disappeared from the world of Magic. The Grand Council that once retained peace in both worlds had toppled, leaving the world of Logic in the hands of the Governments created by the people, and the world of Magic in the hands of the Royals, who ruled by power. _

_Our story begins with one such Royal. A peculiar princess, by the name of Namine._


	2. Once Upon a Princess

YO. So, I recently re-watched Enchanted and read another Terqua fanfiction based on it. But it was basically the movie written down with the main character's names changed to the characters of Kingdom Hearts. So I decided I wanted to write this because Enchanted and Terqua was stuck in my head, but I thought Aqua wouldn't make for a very good Giselle (she kicks way too much butt for that) so I changed pretty much the entire plotline. I kept a few things in here and there. If I had to match up the characters for this I'd go with:

Aqua: Giselle/Pip  
Namine: Giselle  
Terra: Robert/Morgan  
Ventus: Morgan/Robert  
Sora: Prince Edward  
Various Kingdom Hearts and Disney Villains: Queen Narissa  
Vanitas and a few other Disney Villains: Nathaniel  
Kairi and Xion(And possible someone else. I'm not to sure who's going to end up with who aside from the two main pairings): Nancy

I know I know, it's kinda confusing, but bear with me, it'll make sense later, and this story is only loosely based off of Enchanted, so it won't follow the same plotline.

Without further ado, enjoy~

* * *

"Princess!" The highly decorated knight strode quickly and elegantly down the long corridor. Maids, servants, and nobles alike bustled about, like a hive of angry bees.

"Princess!" The knight called again. The Knight looked about frantically, searching for her missing princess. The Knight paused, crossing their arms across their chest, decorated with medals and gold trimmings, and raised their right hand to their chin, thinking. The Knight closed their eyes, and concentrated on their ears. A small pulse, like a second heartbeat traveled through their body and rested in their ears. The knight soon heard the soft scritch-scratching of what sounded like a pencil on paper, coming from above their head. The knight smirked, and hurried to the nearest staircase towards the scratching noise, nimbly dodging all of the people and obstacles that happened in their path.

"Your highness!" The Knight exclaimed, swinging open a large wooden door with a heavy thud. Inside of the room, a small, startled figure jumped at the sudden intrusion.

The young girl was no older than sixteen, with shoulder length hair, the color of soft wheat in the morning sun, and captivating blue eyes, that reached seemingly endless depth. Her skin was ghostly pale, but her cheeks retained a healthy, youthful flush. She wore an long and elegant, but simple white dress that nearly blended in with the white in all of the room's decor. The King had insisted in color coding each wing of the castle, so everything in the white wing was eye assaultingly white, even the clothing of the servants who served in that wing. The silvery crown the girl wore, along with her royal title, indicated her status as princess of the castle.

"Aqua, you scared me," The princess breathed, clutching a small leather bound journal and pencil to her chest.

"I'm sorry Princess, but I do believe you've lost track of time again. You were supposed to meet with your potential husbands fifteen minutes ago." The young princess looked slightly confused for a second.

"Was our meeting not scheduled for tomorrow? I could've sworn..." Namine looked down at her toes and back up at her knight. Her befuddled look was quickly replaced with surprise and amusement.

"Is that why you're dressed so funny Aqua?" Namine giggled, and Aqua flushed slightly and rolled her eyes. It was unfortunate, but all knights were required to wear standard formal uniforms in the company of visiting Royalty. Aqua was a rare exception to the 'males only' knights rules, so she was required to wear the men's uniform. Not that she minded. The male uniform suited her quite well, despite the fact that it squashed her curves in a rather uncomfortable manner. And it was most definitely better than the alternative stuffy noblewoman's dress she'd have been forced to wear otherwise.

"Very funny, now come on, we don't want to keep your father waiting any longer than we have to." Aqua said, guiding Namine out of the room. The two walked briskly down several winding staircases and corridors until they ended up in the gold wing, the Throne Room.

The room was magnificent. It was wide, open, and well suited to grand balls and galas the king so loved to host. As it was in the gold wing, it was adorned in various shades of gold, with three magnificent, golden thrones in the center of the room. Residing in that throne was the king of the land, the wise King Ansem. He looked fondly down at his daughter and her knight, and a brief feeling of relief flashed through his eyes. Visiting Royalty were always a handful to deal with, especially when kept waiting.

The visiting Royals kept neutral expression as the Princess passed, Aqua in tow, but the underlying irritation was evident in their stiff posture and twitching fingers. Still, they bowed politely, nontheless.

"Namine, so kind of you to join us." Ansem said, smiling down kindly at his daughter, gesturing to the smallest golden throne at his left. Namine smiled meekly and hurriedly sat down. Aqua took her place, standing at the side of Namine's throne. King Ansem cleared his throat and stood.

"My honored guests," he began, "I welcome you kindly to my humble home, and express my deepest gratitude that you would journey so far for this momentous occasion. As you all know, with the recent passing of my precious daughter, Princess Namine's sixteenth birthday, she has been declared rightful heir and inheritor of the Royal crown. As such, it is time for her to take on a suitor. Each of you came here today to present to her your land's most prodigal Royal, and worthiest suitor to my dear daughter. I kindly ask that you all come forward, and present yourselves to her at this time. As you all know, first impressions are important, so choose your words wisely." Ansem turned to Namine, gesturing her forward. She stood, patted down any wrinkles or creases in her dress, and stepped forward to stand beside her father. Aqua followed the princess with her eyes, but otherwise stayed put. As personal knight to the princess, it was her duty to guard her at all cost. Royals had a tendency to do whatever best suited their own needs, and Namine was a constant target. Kidnappings, assassinations, and threats were commonplace, so Aqua was always vigilant. Only a few years ago, a Royal from a small, outlying region had managed to hold a knife to the princess' neck at a ball. Had Aqua not been there, Namine would've been killed, but instead, the Royal had gotten a flying kick to the head and a life imprisonment, as well as having his Royal status stripped away from him and his entire family.

Aqua gripped the hilt of her uniform standard sword strapped at her waist tightly, and studied each and every present Royal carefully, like a lioness studying her prey.

Just as King Ansem had asked, Each family of Royals sent a young man forward, a potential husband for Namine and Ruler of all Royals. Namine smiled nervously at them, and Aqua continued her silent examination of the suitors. Most of them didn't appear to be anything special, however, a pair of nearly identical boys near the end of the line caught her attention. One boy had gravity defying, spiky brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, full of life and excitement. His big goofy grin almost made Aqua want to mirror it. The other boy looked as if he could be his twin. The only difference between the two was his black hair and amber eyes. Unlike his blue-eyed counterpart, the black-haired boy's eyes were cold, cruel even. He seemed to lack any interest whatsoever. When he caught Aqua's stare, he gave her a rather malicious grin that made her skin crawl. There was something about that black-haired Royal that Aqua definitely did not like. She tightened her hold on her sword and hardened her glare, swiftly walking over to Namine and standing by her side, as if she were challenging the black haired boy to do something. He merely raised an eyebrow and chuckled silently in response. Namine cast a confused expression at her bodyguard at her sudden appearance, but shrugged it off, knowing Aqua does everything for a reason. Ansem seemed to acknowledge Aqua's dislike for the black-haired suitor, for he gave her a nod of approval before turning his harsh gaze on the boy.

As each suitor stepped forward, they presented their name, the region they represented, and a small token for the princess to take into consideration. The brown haired boy that had caught Aqua's attention early stepped forward and introduced himself as Sora. He came representing Destiny Islands, a small, remote island chain in the far east.

"Our islands don't have much money, or valuable gifts to share with you like the others Princess," he said, reaching for something in his pocket, "But I hope you'll accept this," He held out a beautiful star shaped pendant, crafted out of small pink shells that looked almost like glass. A few of the Royals chuckled at his gift, and others looked at him in pity or disbelief. Namine, however, only continued to look at the trinket curiously. Sora glanced around nervously before continuing, "You see, we have this legend on Destiny Islands. There's this star-shaped fruit that grows only there, and nowhere else in the world, and if you share it with someone you really care about, your destinies will be linked together forever. And if you make a charm shaped like the fruit and share it with someone, it creates a bond that can never be broken. We call them Wayfinders." There was a brief moment of silence before all of the Royals burst into laughter.

"What a fool!"

"Does he really think he can impress the _Princess_ with such a pathetic gift?"

"He's crazy!"

The Royals taunted and jeered at Sora. He flushed beet red and stared down at the Wayfinder in his hand, ashamed. Namine suddenly stepped forward and took Sora's hands in hers. The Royals immediately ceased their laughter. Sora's head snapped up, and he met Namine's eyes. She smiled kindly at him.

"I think it's lovely," She said, a faint pink dust settling on her pale cheeks. She slid the Wayfinder from Sora's hand and clutched it against her chest. Sora returned the gesture with a thousand watt grin and bowed happily.

"Thank you Princess!" He bounded back to his spot in line as Namine smiled and walked back to her own position beside Aqua. Aqua smiled at Namine and unconsciously loosened her grip on her sword, only to grip it twice as hard as the black-haired boy stepped forward. He had an arrogant air about him and a cocky grin to match.

"The name's Vanitas Princess," he said smoothly, examining Namine from head to toe, smile growing slightly as his eyes ghosted over her delicate figure. Namine shrank back slightly under his gaze, uncomfortable. Aqua's eye twitched ever so slightly. Did he just _check out_ the Princess? If Aqua didn't have Namine's reputation to uphold, and Vanitas' title of Royal to hold her back, she would've cut the boy right down the middle and fed him to the chocobos for breakfast.

"I come here representing Hollow Bastion, and my gift to you..." He smirked at Namine and waved a hand through the air. It radiated with magic, but one of a dark kind, and a small necklace lie in its wake. It hovered through the air and stopped about a foot from Namine's face. The necklace was silver, with a sickly sea green pendant, with a black slit down the center, almost like a cat's eye. "...is this necklace, crafted of the finest gem and silver Hollow Bastion has to offer." Namine smiled weakly at Vanitas' gift before holding open her palm, the one without the Wayfinder in it, and let the pendant fall into it. She tucked it onto the folds of her skirt. She rather disliked the necklace, it gave of an uncomfortable vibe, but decided to keep it, to be polite.

"Now that we are done with the formalities, let us enjoy a nice banquet, to celebrate and get to know each other better before my dear Princess Namine decides on her future husband!" Ansem announced, flicking a wrist through the air, as if swatting away a fly. A wide assortment of gourmet meals were sent flying through the air. They set themselves up on banquet tables the shimmered into existence out of nowhere, and the Royals took seats at tables that appeared in the same manner. Namine looked pleadingly at Aqua, silently begging to leave the crowded room. She had always hated large gatherings, being the shy girl she was. But so was the life of a princess. Aqua was a lenient bodyguard however, and wanted to talk to Namine in private anyway, so she guided the Princess into the hallway, devoid of obnoxious partygoers.

"Aqua, I'm not sure I'm ready for this..." Namine mumbled, looking fearful. Aqua couldn't blame her. Just meeting someone and suddenly having to marry them is a bit stressful to say the least.

"It's alright," Aqua said, placing a comforting hand on Namine's cheek. "I know it's hard, and it's scary, but I'll be by your side, every step of the way. Don't worry Namine, I'll protect you, no matter what. And this day is what you've been preparing for your entire life! I'm sure you'll choose a wonderful husband!"

"It's just... I don't know these boys Aqua. I've never ever talked to a boy outside of the palace! The only guy I've ever really talked to is father, but these boys are different than him. I don't know if I'm ready to be married. Ready to be...Queen." Aqua furrowed her eyebrows with concern. She knew exactly how tough this would be on Namine, and that she was stepping into unfamiliar territory, but she truly believed Namine could overcome her fears.

"Nene," Aqua said, tilting Namine's head up to look into her eyes. "I know you're scared, and you don't think you can do it. But I've watched you since you were born, grow and blossom into beautiful young woman. You're wise far beyond your years, and I know that no matter who you choose to marry, you will make the best decision for our kingdom and yourself. I trust you to follow your heart, and I'm proud to call myself your knight."

Namine smiled, a bit more reassured, and nodded. Aqua smiled and pulled Namine in for a quick hug.

"Thanks Aqua," Namine mumbled into Aqua's chest. Aqua chuckled and stroked the back of Namine's head.

"So, that Sora boy was quite nice, wasn't he?" Aqua asked, half-joking. Namine pulled out of Aqua's grasp and turned three shades of red.

"I-I he-eh-wh-wh we only- I-I mean, I just-" Namine hid her face in her hands and muttered, "I really, really like him Aqua."

Aqua smiled. "I take it you've made your decision then?" Namine nodded. Aqua chuckled and patted Namine on the head.

"Are you ready to go back inside?" she asked. Namine hesitated.

"Just... give me a minute," Namine said, fidgeting with the long, billowy sleeves of her dress. "Please."

Aqua nodded with understanding, and entered the throne room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Namine stood in the hall for what seemed like hours, just staring at the gold carpet. Despite Aqua's encouragement, she was still nervous. Was she really getting married? And to a boy she hardly knew at that? She really liked Sora, but she had only just met him! She definitely wasn't sure that she wanted to marry him. He was far better than any of her alternatives though. She could tell by the gentle look in his eyes, and the kindness in his smile and the warmth of his hands... Namine shook her head. She shouldn't be out in the corridor daydreaming like a little girl imagining her prince on a white horse, she had to go back inside and act like the Princess she was. Straightening her back, she walked gracefully up to the massive door and slowly opened it. All eyes in the room immediately focused on her. Aqua, who was standing right inside of the door, was at her side in an instant. Namine glanced around the room, her eyes meeting first with her smiling father, and then with Sora's. He looked surprised to meet her gaze and blushed a deep red.

Music suddenly blared to life, and a massive orchestra of floating golden instruments spun around the ceiling of the Throne Room.

Forcing down her own blush, Namine walked over to where Sora was seated. When he was only a little more than a foot away, she said, "Would you like to dance?"

The Royals in the room stared, awestruck. The shy little princess had asked Sora, a Royal from one of the lowliest regions to _dance_? Several glared, while others looked disheartened. Aqua and Ansem beamed with pride.

"I-I'd love to!" Sora choked. He quickly stood up, knocking his chair over in the process, and tripping over his own feet as he dove to catch it, only for it to disappear in a burst of shimmering golden sparkles. He quickly stood up, red with embarrassment, and dusted off his clothes. Recovering quickly, he held out a hand for Namine to grasp. She gently placed her hand over his, and he guided her to the dance floor. The pair strode to the center of the room, and took up the signature waltzing position.

"Are you nervous?" Namine asked.

"I should be asking you that," Sora replied. Namine looked at him quizically. Sora blushed and stammered, "I-I mean, you have to get married and all after meeting someone so suddenly right? Seems like something pretty hard to do. N-not that I don't think you can do it! I-I mean, you're so great, and kind and pretty-er, um, pretty as in you look pretty and I-, um, just, I thought you might be more nervous... about this whole thing, cause...you know... you're the one who decides and all and..." Sora rambled nervously, and Namine couldn't help but find his nervousness and concern cute. She rested her head against his chest as they danced. Sora immediately stopped his incoherent mumbles. Namine listened to his steady heartbeat, and giggled when she heard it speed up slightly.

"Don't be nervous," Namine said, "Thank you for worrying about me. I haven't really met anyone outside the castle before, and I was really nervous before but," Namine raised her head to look Sora in the eye, "I'm really glad I got to meet you Sora," Namine smiled, and Sora turned redder than the red wing of the castle. "Even though you can't really dance," She added in a joking tone. Sora gave her a somewhat shocked look, but immediately replaced it with a huge grin.

"Can't dance?" He laughed, "I'll show you who can't dance!"

Namine giggled as Sora twirled her in sloppy circles and dipped her so low, he nearly dropped her. He spun her all over the dance floor, nearly knocking into a few Royals who were starting to make their way to the floor to dance themselves. The Royals quickly decided best to wait for Sora to finish dancing before they started. He really wasn't a very eloquent dancer, but it was fun nonetheless.

Just as soon as it had begun, the song ended, and Sora released Namine from his hold, albeit reluctantly. He bowed respectfully, taking her right hand in his, and kissing the back of her palm gently. Namine blushed, and curtsied in response. Soon enough ,all of the Royals had taken to the dance floor, and several of Namine's other suitors had asked for her hand in dance. She had politely accepted all of her requests, until Aqua pulled her aside, noticing her exhaustion. Aqua guided her to a wall to the right of the room. As they came near it, it dissolved in a plethora of colors to reveal a beautiful garden, lined with various magical flowers and plants, and a massive fountain, filled with water that seemed to shine with every color in the rainbow. Namine sat on the ledge of the fountain and sighed in relief.

"Having fun?" Aqua teased. Namine pouted at her a little, to which Aqua only laughed. She sat down beside Namine and rested one palm on the surface of the water. When she raised her hand back up, a trail of glowing, multi-colored water followed. Aqua guided it through the air in various shapes; a fish, a bird, snowflakes, and so on. Namine watched in fascination. Watching Aqua's magic was one of Namine's favorite things to do. Aqua's magic was both graceful and powerful, the strongest magic of all the knights in the kingdom of Radiant Garden. Aqua molded the colorful water into floral shapes, and complex designs, before freezing it and watching vanish in the form of a sparkling dust. The two girls sat in a comfortable silence and enjoyed the cool breeze as they listened to the festivities inside.

Suddenly, something crashed through the bushes to their right. Aqua reflexively jumped into a battle stance, ready to defend Namine, who had jumped from her perch on the fountain, prepared to run for help at any sign of danger. However, it was only Marluxia, the garden's caretaker, stumbling through the brush with an elderly woman in tow. Aqua and Namine let out an immediate sigh of relief. They were both familiar with the pink haired man, having spent a lot of free time in the garden. Namine enjoyed drawing the many wonders of the flower garden, and Aqua accompanied Namine almost all of the time, so the three spent quite a bit of time together. Marluxia was a pleasant man, with a passion for everything beautiful. He loved the garden as much as his own life, and he always acted like a gentleman towards everyone (except the castle's creepy doctor, Vexen), so it was strange to see him dragging the old woman along in such a rough manner.

"Marluxia, who is this?"Aqua asked, sheathing her sword.

"I don't know, but she was trampling all of my beautiful Moon Lilies! I slaved over those beauties for hours!" He exclaimed, pushing the woman forward towards Aqua in a way that was rough, but not forceful enough to hurt her. Aqua and Namine exchanged glances, but otherwise said nothing. Both girls had fallen victim to Marluxia's anger after messing with his flowers. He had once put poison ivy in their beds when they had accidentally turned his red bleeding hearts neon green during Namine's magic training. They had itchy rashes for a week.

"Excuse me ma'am? But why are you here in the garden? Are you looking for something?" Aqua asked politely. She was a sympathetic woman, never hesitating to help someone in need of it. The old woman looked up, beady eyes peeking out from underneath her dirty, dark brown hood. Her eyes widened at the sight of Namine.

"Princess!" She exclaimed suddenly, dropping to her knees at Namine's feet. Namine jumped in shock and looked at Aqua, silently asking what to do.

"I'm so terribly sorry to intrude upon your night Princess," the old woman cried, "But my grandson! I had lost him in the maze! He climbed over the brush and disappeared without a trace. It was wrong of me to enter the castle grounds without permission, but please! I have to find my grandson! He is all I have!" Namine looked at the old woman with sympathy.

"Come on," Namine said, holding a hand out to the old woman, "I'll help you find your grandson."

Tears of relief formed in the woman's eyes. "Oh thank you Princess! Thank you!"

The old woman reached up and grasped Namine's hand. A deep sense of dread filled Namine as she touched the woman's hand. A cold sensation pulsed through her body from where the old woman touched. She shrugged the feeling off, more concerned with finding the woman's grandson.

Aqua and Namine walked with the woman, following her in the direction she said she thought she saw her grandson go. Marluxia stayed behind, grumbling about fixing his poor Moon Lilies. After a few minutes, the three ended up in a small clearing by one of the castle's protective walls. It was completely surrounded by thick trees, bushes, and various flowers. Marluxia was very thorough with his gardening.

The strangest thing about the clearing was the massive well in the center of it. It was connected to the wall, as it it could be some sort of drainage system, but Aqua had memorized the entire palace, inside and out, and recognized no such place. The well also lacked any drainage pipes or water. Rather, it seemed to be empty altogether, aside from an eerie bluish glow it emitted. There was something about this place Aqua did not trust, but she didn't want to abandon the old woman and her grandson.

"Grandma?" A small voice called, echoing. The old woman made a face of abject horror.

"My grandson! That's him!" She cried, "He must've fallen into the well!" Namine immediately rushed to peer over the edge of a well before Aqua could warn her to be careful. Seeing nothing but the blue light the well reflected, she turned around to ask Aqua to call for help, only to be met with the face of the elderly old woman.

And suddenly, she was falling.

"PRINCESS!" Aqua yelled. She dove after Namine, knocking the elderly woman out of the way.

How could she have been so foolish to trust a stranger like that? That old woman was going to get it as soon as she and Namine got out of the well.

Aqua grabbed hold of Namine as soon as she was close enough to touch her. Namine was screaming and flailing, and clung tightly to Aqua as they tumbled downward. What appeared to be a strange, shimmering water was quickly approaching, so Aqua shielded Namine with all her body. When they hit the watery substance, however, it felt more like falling into bedsheets. There was no liquid at all, only what appeared to be thousands of tiny blue sparkles.

Gravity suddenly began pulling the two in reverse, and, pulling a sharp 180, Aqua landed with a dull thud on her back, Namine laying on top of her chest. The blue sparkles disappeared into the floor, and Namine rolled off of Aqua. Despite the pain and lack of breath, Aqua forced herself to her feet, helping Namine up as well. The first thing Aqua noticed was the stench. The acrid smell of rotting food and waste and the complete and utter darkness around them. Aqua searched around for a source of light, finding a faint one at the top of a rusted metal ladder. She pulled Namine behind her by the hand towards the ladder. She climbed up first to make sure it was safe. A grate of some sort blocked the path. Aqua shoved it hard, and forced the heavy metal slab out of the way. She pulled herself out, and Namine quickly after her. Looking around, all Aqua could see was lights. Lights in all colors and shapes, moving pictures, huge, and everywhere. People were everywhere too. Many stared at them, but kept on moving along. Aqua also noticed how they were all dressed in such strange clothing. Many women wore men's pants, and their clothes were all so tight and strange. Strangest of all were the castles. They were all so square and _tall._

They must've been taller than all of the towers in Radiant Garden combined. They were dark too, with a few yellow lights in square shapes all around the sides of the walls. And the carriages were so very strange. They moved so slowly, loudly, and were so tightly packed together Aqua wondered how anyone managed to get anywhere in this strange place.

Most importantly, Aqua knew, wherever they were, they were very, _very _far from home.


	3. Once Upon a Picture

A/N: I was in a creative mood and decided to update early.

Since it'll probably be a little confusing, I'll give you the main character's ages now and the ages of those mentioned already.

Aqua: 22  
Namine: 16  
Terra: 24  
Ven: 17  
Kairi: 17  
Xion: 18  
Sora: 18  
Vanitas: 19  
Ansem: 36  
Zack: 25

I also thought I should fill you in a little on Terra and Ven's relationship.

So Terra was adopted by someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway when he was around 8. Five years later, Ven was adopted at 6. The two were inseparable. Then someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway was attacked when Terra was 18 and Ven was 11. Terra went into Law Enforcement with hopes to find the attacker, and Ven is still in high school. Someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway is still alive, only injured.

* * *

Cold. It was cold, and dark, but light at the same time and it was different. It was unfamiliar. This place was nothing like the world Namine had known her entire life.

This world was not her world.

Aqua didn't need to tell her for Namine to conclude that they were not in Radiant Gardens, or any part of their kingdom for that matter. This place was too different. Too... cold.

The familiar warmth of the magic Namine so loved didn't flow through the earth and skies as it did in her home. The only things flowing through the air and ground here was pollution.

Aqua held Namine close to herself protectively.

"Stay close to me," She whispered, eyeing the strangers around them warily. Namine nodded.

"Aqua, where are we going to go?" Namine whimpered. Silence was the only response she received. Namine choked out a quiet sob. If Aqua had no idea what they were going to do, what hope did they have? They had no way to return home, and were trapped in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and no familiar embrace of the magics they usually indulged in. Namine buried her head into Aqua's back and clung to the fabric of her uniform for dear life.

Aqua was the most reliable person Namine knew. If Aqua didn't what what to do, then for all intents and purposes, they were doomed. They had no where to go, and no knowledge of this strange world.

Aqua bit her lip as Namine silently cried into her back. She wished she could tell Namine that everything would be fine, that they would be back home really soon, and there was nothing to worry about. But she couldn't lie. Aqua had no idea where they were, or if they would ever make it back to Radiant Gardens. All she could do now was hope some hero would appear out of nowhere and help them.

"What kind of freaks are you?" A sneering voice called out. Aqua whipped her head in the direction of the voice and glared. It seemed she got a villain instead of a hero.

A man, no, a boy, only slightly older than Namine was standing a few feet to their left. He had a blue knit cap on, with a symbol Aqua didn't recognize on the front and a blue sleeveless hoodie. His baggy pants rode low on his hips, blue boxers shorts peeking out of the top. His two friends stood on either side of him, a boy and a girl, wearing similar clothing, only their pants were pulled up to a more appropriate level. Aqua didn't like the arrogant vibe they(more specifically the boy in the center) gave off, but they didn't feel like a threat. She kept her guard up however, just in case. This world was unfamiliar to her and she didn't know what to expect from the people in it.

"Look Rai, Fuu, the circus must be in town!" He laughed. His two friends laughed too, but the boy looked more confused than anything, and the girl appeared indifferent.

"Fuu, take a picture! I want to show everyone these chicken wusses, I don't think they'd believe us otherwise!"

The girl reached into the messenger bag strapped to her shoulder, pulling out a black box, roughly the size of Namine's favorite tarts, and held it up to her face. Aqua and Namine were almost immediately blinded by a flash of light emitted by the small black box, and Aqua had her sword drawn in an instant.

In one swift movement, the black box was sliced int two, and the sword was held up to the girl's, Fuu's, neck. The silver haired girl's red eyes widened. She dropped the two pieces of the black box, and everyone around stared at Aqua as the pieces clattered to the ground.

People who had previously been walking past without a second glance had stopped to stand and watch, mouths agape. Namine held tighter to Aqua, as if to hide from the bystander's stares. The two boys with Fuu froze completely.

Murmurs of "Oh my god," and "Someone call the cops!" rushed through the crowds. Aqua looked around nervously, but didn't let it show on her face. She stood from her fighting stance, slowly pulling her sword from Fuu's neck and sheathed it. The silver haired girl let out a breathe she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Move! Police!" A loud, powerful voice called. The crowd parted in a wave at the voices command, and two large men in blue uniforms pushed through the crowd. One man, blue cap covering black hair, grabbed Namine and yanked her away from Aqua.

"Aqua!" she cried, struggling to no avail to escape the unfamiliar man's grasp. Aqua's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and anger, crying out "Namine!"

Before she could charge at the man who grabbed Namine, the other man grabbed her by her right wrist with one hand, hooking his other around her elbow and pulled. _Hard_. In a split second, Aqua's back was pressed against his muscular chest, her arm bent behind her back and wrist between her shoulders.

"You are under arrest! You have the right to re- AGH!" The man cried out in pain as Aqua headbutted him, but he didn't let go. Rather he gripped her arm tighter, and Aqua winced.

"Why you-" He began, tightening his already vice like grip. Aqua clenched her teeth to prevent herself from crying out. She glared at her assailant over her shoulder and elbowed him in the gut with her free arm. The man doubled over, momentarily releasing his grip.

That was all Aqua needed to reverse the grip he had on her wrist and send him flying over her shoulder.

With one man down, Aqua turned to the other, who was struggling to hold on to Namine.

"Hold still kid! I'm not trying to hurt you!" He muttered, "Quit struggling!" Namine did, and the man gave a small sigh of relief.

"See, that wasn't so har-"

"Aqua!"

The man looked up to see a blur of blue hair and pale flesh before a fist collided with his cheekbone. He let go of Namine as he stumbled away, pressing his hand to his cheek.

"Oh fuck!" He shouted clutching his cheek. Aqua grabbed Namine and pressed her against her side with one arm, drawing her sword with the other. She glared at the black haired man, who was slowly getting off of the ground, holding both arms out.

"Okay, let's all just... calm down for a second," He said as he stood to his full height. His eyes flicked behind Aqua for a moment and shouted, "Terra! Taze her!"

Before Aqua could full react, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. Aqua shoved Namine away from herself and both of the men and spun around. The last thing she saw before an agonizingly painful shock swept through her body were a pair of stern, clear blue eyes, and Namine screaming out her name.

* * *

Terra was not having a good day. His alarm didn't go off that morning, so he was rushing out of the door of his apartment without his usual coffee and bagel combo, on top of which, Ventus had left his skateboard out and Terra had tripped over it, getting a nasty bruise in the process. He had then gotten into his police issued cruiser, which had been egged, realizing only when he had already arrived at the station, that he'd forgotten his phone and partner Zack. He'd hastily punched himself and Zack in before racing back to his cruiser to get his friend. Zack had proceeded to laugh at his friend's misfortune for the entire ride, and making jabs at him saying, "If you had a smoking hot girlfriend like me, you wouldn't have this problem!"

When they had finally gotten back to the station, Chief Eraqus had assigned him and Zack patrol duty for the rest of the week as punishment for their tardiness.

All day, the two of them had been running around, taking care of stupid misdemeanors and small pointless calls.

"I hate patrol duty," Terra grumbled. Zack laughed.

"Then you shouldn't have been late!" Terra sat further back into his seat, gripping the wheel of his police car so hard, it might've left imprints. They had been stuck in heavy traffic for over an hour, just trying to get back to the station.

"Hey, what's that up there?" Zack asked, leaning forward in his seat. He pointed at it for Terra to see and sure enough, a large crowd had gathered to watch something. The crowd was so large, people had begun to spill out into the street. Terra sighed and pulled the car to the curb, turning his lights on.

The two officers climbed out of the car, ready to break the crowd up, but the silver glint of a blade immediately alerted them to danger.

"Move! Police!" Terra shouted out, forcing people out of his way. He was shocked to say the least when he'd made it to the center of the disturbance. A tall woman with blue hair was holding a smaller blond to her side, sword now sheathed at her side. She wore what appeared to be a formal uniform, like the ones princes wore in Disney movies, decorated with various pins and medals, none of which Terra was familiar with. The other girl wore what appeared to be a medieval white gown, with long billowy sleeves and skirts, but at the same time utterly simple. They looked like they had been plucked out of some old fairy tale.

_They can't be from around here, _he thought.

Zack had quickly rushed forward to grab the smaller blond girl and yank her away from the blue haired one. The girl flailed around and cried in protest, calling out, "Aqua!" Terra presumed this was he other woman's name.

'Aqua' looked about ready to rip out Zack's esophagus as she cried out "Namine!"

Terra quickly grabbed the woman while her back was turned, pinning her in a standard police hold he learned while he was still a trainee.

"You're under arrest! You have the right to re-AGH!" He was cut short as Aqua rammed the back of her head into his face. He felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach as he tightened his hold on her and he growled, "Why you-" He was cut off once again as the unfamiliar girl dug her elbow deep into his ribcage, knocking the wind right out of his lungs. Terra bent forward, trying to regain his bearings. He felt his grip on her hand slip, and then he was lifted into the air.

Terra looked into the sky, completely stunned. His back ached and the wind was knocked out of his chest all over again. She had just judo flipped him. That strange blue haired girl had just judo flipped him, a man twice her size, like she was merely flipping a coin. From where he lay on the sidewalk, he could hear Zack trying to get the blond girl, Namine as Aqua had called her, to calm down. He could hear Zack cry in pain and the connection of flesh to bone. As Terra stood, he could hear Zack trying to calm the woman.

Aqua had completely forgotten about him. Back turned, believing him down for the count, she was completely oblivious to Terra's approaching figure. Terra silently reached down to his side, pulling his Tazer out from it's place in his belt, and snuck up on Aqua.

"Terra! Taze her!"

That was all the signal Terra needed to grab the woman by her shoulder. She had shoved the blond girl away, and spun around. Terra met her shocked and fearful eyes with a stern glare as he raised the small device and pressed the activated end to the side of her neck. Within seconds, she was unconscious in Terra's arms. Terra hoisted her over his shoulder as Zack dispersed the crowd. Terra then walked calmly over to the blonde, who was whimpering pitifully on the ground. When she saw him approach, her eyes widened, and she'd prepared to flee, but hesitated, seeing Aqua draped over his shoulder. That moments hesitation allowed Zack to rush over and trap Namine in his strong arms. Namine struggled and fought, but she was nowhere near strong enough to escape. She must have realized that too, becasue she soon stopped struggling and stood still.

Then, she started to cry.

Terra could handle gun toting lunatics, knife brandishing psychopaths, murderers, even killer fucking clowns. But a crying teenage girl was not one of those things. He had seen many criminals turn into sobbing messes at the realization that they were going to prison, but this girl was a far cry from a criminal.

Zack and Terra looked at each other, panicked and confused. Zack had ended up awkwardly patting the girl's head with one hand while Terra stood there like an idiot. She looked up at him in confusion, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks. He stopped stroking her head and stared back down equally confused. A choked cry escaped her lips, and Namine was sobbing again, only this time, she pressed her face into the front of Zack's uniform, flustering and panicking the cop even more.

Now that Terra and Zack had gotten a better look at the strange pair, he'd noticed how worn down and pathetic they looked. Namine's hair was tangled and dirty, and her white dress had turned an ugly shade of brown all around the torn edge of her skirt and long sleeves. She had holes in her now brown stockings, which Terra presumed were previously white, and the short heel on one of her shoes were missing. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red, so she must have been crying a lot. Aqua was in no better shape, her uniform torn in various places, caked with mud and grime, and missing several buttons.

Terra and Zack exchanged one last confused glance before they going back to the car. Zack, unable to coax Namine into releasing him, was forced to sit in the back of the squad car. Aqua rested in the passenger seat, handcuffed to the door handle in case she woke up and tried to attack Terra again.

Terra could still hear Namine's sobs in the back seat, though they had quieted considerably from before. He could hear as she cried into Zack's chest about wanting to go home(a place she called Radiant Gardens), to see her father, someone called Marluxia, and someone else named Sora. His name came up a lot.

Terra gave Zack a concerned glance, to which he responded with a shrug. Glancing at the passenger seat, Terra studied Aqua in more detail.

She was beautiful, without a doubt. Her long dark lashes and high arched eyebrows, soft blue hair and pale flawless skin. It only served to confuse him more as to why such a beautiful, delicate looking woman could be so strong, and why she carried around a sword and a girl that looked like a freaking medieval princess. Sighing, Terra focused his attention back onto the congested road as the group made their way slowly, very, very slowly, to the police station.

* * *

Aqua groaned as she woke up, feeling incredibly stiff. She straightened her back in an effort to stretch out the stiff muscles when she heard a soft chink. Looking down at her hands, she panicked. They were connected to the table by two metal bracelets around her wrist and a chain that connected those bracelets to the table. Aqua yanked her arms away from the table in a pointless effort to free herself.

"Are you done?"

Aqua's head snapped up. In front of her was the man from before, the one who had knocked her out. Namine and the other man were no where in sight.

She bristled and jumped out of her chair. Well, tried to anyways. The bracelets attached to the table held her in a bowing position. Instead of jumping backwards like she had intended, Aqua merely knocked the metal chair she was sitting in on it's side, and fell forward onto the table from the rebound of the bracelets. The man chuckled, getting out of his own chair to correct hers, before returning to his own seat. Aqua sat down and flushed a dark shade of red, muttering a quick thanks without looking the man in the eyes. She sat down and studied the odd metal bracelets. She gave them a testing tug, finding them to be quite strong. she lifted her arms up and studied them from several different angles before resting her hands on the table again.

She could easily break through the light metal of the chain and bracelets with magic, but, seeing as she had sensed no magic present in this place, decided against it. Best not to startle anyone and draw unnecessary attention.

Terra studies Aqua with complete fascination. The way she studied her handcuffs was like she'd never seen a pair before in her entire life. When she finally finished observing the restraints, she looked Terra dead in the eye with an unwavering stare of her own. Terra raised a curious eyebrow. It almost felt like she was challenging him to speak. As Terra opened his mouth to begin his interrogation, Aqua spoke.

"Where's Namine." Terra frowned. She did that on purpose.

"Where's Namine." She repeated. Terra lowered his brow.

"I'm the one who's asking the questions."

"I refuse to answer any questions until I know Namine is safe." Terra sighed, exasperated. Why did women have to be so difficult? Even strange women dressed like a prince, brandishing swords, and judo flipping cops twice their size with ease were difficult.

"If I tell you where she is, will you cooperate?" Terra asked, folding his arms across his chest. Aqua nodded.

"She's outside waiting with Officer Fair. Happy?" Aqua replied with a smug nod. Terra glared.

"First question, why are you dressed like some guy about to swoop in on a white horse to save the damsel?"

"Tradition," was her only response. Terra gave her an annoyed stare. She wasn't going to make this easy.

"What tradition?" Much to his surprise, Aqua gave him an incredulous stare, as if the 'tradition' was supposed to be common knowledge.

"All knights are to wear their formal uniform in the presence of visiting Royals."

Now it was Terra's turn to give Aqua an incredulous stare. He wanted to call her out on bullshit, but the way she said it was so serious. It seemed like she truly thought she was some sort of fairy tale knight in some fairy tale castle having some stupid tea party with some fairy tale royalty. Next thing she would be telling him was that the blonde girl was some type of princess. Terra paused.

"Is that blonde girl a princess?"

"Yes of course. She's the princess of Radiant Gardens. Didn't you know that?"

"Enough with the lying, tell me the truth. Who are you, where are you from, and why were you waving around a sword, unlicensed, and disturbing the peace!" Terra exclaimed getting irritated. Aqua jumped back a bit in shock.

"I-I am telling the truth!" she exclaimed indignantly, "My name is Aqua, I am a knight of Radiant Gardens, and the only ones disturbing the peace were those three with that black box of light-"

"A camera," Terra corrected. Aqua stared at him blankly

"What's a cam-rah?" Terra facepalmed. He stood abruptly out of his chair and stalked out of the room, muttering, "I'll be right back." He slammed the door behind him, causing Aqua to wince at the excess force he used.

Aqua sat in her chair eyes wide and dazed. How could he not have known that Namine was the princess? How could he not know any tradition or customs, and how could he not take her word for anything she said? She was a knight! She was honor bound to tell the truth! What would she have gained in any case by lying about it?

Then again, this place was so strange. Maybe her suspicions that this world really _wasn't_ a part of their own were true? Could it really be possible? It would explain so many things, like why this world had so many strange people, buildings, and objects in it, and why there seemed to be no magic.

Aqua paled.

What if _she_ had no magic in this world? She felt the sweat forming on her brow as her muscles tensed and her nerves went wild with worry. Looking down at her hands, she placed them, palms down, on the cold metal table and quietly said, "_Blizzara." _

Ice crystals formed on the the surface of the table, spiraling outward in an intricate and beautiful dance of magic. By the time it had reached the ends of the table, it had formed a beautiful, icy picture of the castle in Radiant Gardens. Aqua traced the outline of the towers and walls with a happy sigh.

She still had her magic.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Terra rushed inside, Zack at his heels. The two cops looked from the table, to Aqua, and to each other.

"How did you do that?" Zack asked, astonished. Aqua looked down at the ice picture she had made, then back up to the two officers.

"I think you two should sit down. This is going to be a long story."

* * *

Zack watched Terra as he emerged from the interrogation room, slamming the door hard behind him. Namine, who had stopped crying at this point, burrowed deeper into his chest.

"Rough night?" Zack asked. Terra grumbled in response. He glanced over at Namine. Pulling one of the plastic waiting chairs from the wall to face them, he sat down next to the pair.

"Namine, are you a princess?" Terra asked in a s gentle a voice he could muster. Zack looked at Terra like he had grown a second head. Sure this Namine girl dressed like some fairy tale dandy, but really? This was a police interrogation! Not a daycare center!

"Yes," Namine said, confused. Zack sighed. Out of all times Terra had to be ridiculous and gullible beyond reason he had to choose now to do it.

"Terra, you can't be serious. What on earth do you think your're-" Zack cut himself short when he saw a faint blue light illuminate the room Aqua was in. He gently lifted Namine off of himself and peered through the one-way glass. Terra and Namine, out of curiosity, joined him.

Zack and Terra couldn't believe their eyes.

There, at the table, a sheet of ice was forming. Forming in a beautiful way that neither of them had seen before. And it was coming from Aqua's hands. Without any warning, Terra tore himself away from the window and towards the door to the interrogation room, Zack quickly following behind him.

Namine watched as Terra threw the door to the room open and charged inside, Aqua staring at him, surprised.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Namine turned towards their source.

Much to her surprise, there in the hall stood a boy, not much older than herself, with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes, lacking the uniform she had seen on most every person in the building. Instead, he wore a grey shirt under a green hooded jacket, tan cargo shorts, and a pair of worn grey running shoes. Hey grinned at Namine, and walked in her direction.

"Hey, have you seen a tall, scary-looking guy named Terra around anywhere?" he asked.

Namine gasped slightly, bringing a fist to her mouth.

This boy looked just like Sora.


	4. Once Upon an Interrogation

**A/N: BEFORE YOU READ! The last chapter was kind of short, so I extended it. Make sure you've read the WHOLE THING before you read this, or else you will be VERY confused.**

This chapter is really short too, but I just wanted to update since I'll be gone all day tomorrow. I'll try to keep the lengths kinda long and consistent, usually around 4000 words, but this one's only about 2500.

And sorry that the beginning is so slow to start up! I promise it'll get better later when more people show up and cross through the portal! Also, just to get rid of any confusion, unlike in the movie Enchanted, the sewer is not like a two-way door. The portals between Terra and Ven's world and Aqua and Namine's world work kind of like the doors to light and darkness. Only it's in a fixed position somewhere in the world. We already know the door to Terra and Ven's world was the weird well thing, but the sewer is not the door back to Aqua and Namine's world, nor is it where everyone from Aqua and Namine's world come out of when they pass through the well-portal.

* * *

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Terra refused to believe what the crazy, blue-haired, sword wielding, psycho-knight of a woman was saying.

An entire world parallel to their own, comprised of fairy tales and magic? Impossible.

Yet here she was. A natural bluenette who had just created an artistic masterpiece out of ice in the middle of fucking August onto a metal table she was bound to.

Why couldn't Terra have gotten a chainsaw killer like a normal cop?

Zack seemed over-enthused, however, to find that their biggest case in months had been some strange woman who had apparently fallen into a well in her world and popped out of the sewer system in their world.

"So there's really unicorns and trolls and fairies and things in your world?! Oh man, Aerith's never going to believe this!" Zack exclaimed, sitting on the edge of his seat. If he scooted and further forward in it, Terra swore he would fall right over the edge and ass-first onto the floor.

Aqua just laughed, "Yes, and elves and giants too." Aqua's expression suddenly went from content to serious.

"But Namine and I have run into a bit of a problem," She said, looking at the two police officers. Terra and Zack exchanged glances.

"Namine has just recently turned 16, and, in our world, once the heir to the throne turns 16, she must choose a husband within a year to be wed to, or the world will go to war over the throne," Aqua explained. Terra couldn't help but glance at the one-way window the little princess was standing behind. It was hard to imagine such a young, fragile-looking girl had such heavy burdens to bear.

"Right now, Namine and I have no way of returning to our world, or knowing if we'll ever be able to go back," Aqua continued, "And on top of that, we have no place to stay and no knowledge of this world," Aqua took a deep breath, "I know it's a lot to ask, especially of complete strangers, but we have no one else to turn to. Please, help us find a place to stay, or at least teach us how to live in this world, I beg you," she finished, bowing her head. Terra and Zack looked at each other.

"I'd love to let you to stay with us," Zack started, "But the apartment Aerith and I live in is only just big enough for the two of us. I'm sure she'd love to have you too, but there's really no way to house four people in there-"

"What about two."

Zack and Terra stared at her.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked.

"Take Namine. I can defend myself, but Namine won't survive on her own. Please, if you could only help one of us, help Namine," Aqua finished, clenching her fists over her thighs. She felt horrible for putting Namine through such a difficult situation. If only she had been more alert around that old woman, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Zack scratched the back of his head, muttering, "Shit," under his breath. He knew he wouldn't be able to take in either of the girls, and he definitely did not want to leave them out on the streets with absolutely no idea what kind of people they could encounter out there. The streets of Traverse City could be very dangerous at night.

Zack looked pleadingly at Terra. Terra rolled his eyes.

He knew that look. It was Zack's puppy-dog "ohplease-ohplease-ohplease" look. It was his killer attack.

Sighing, Terra ran a hand through his hair.

"I guess...you two could stay with us."

Aqua blinked. "Really?" The look of absolute gratitude and joy in her expression made Terra blush and look away in embarrassment. There was definitely enough rooms, with a large spare guest room and three bathrooms. Terra's apartment was rather large for just the three current occupants. Plus, it couldn't be that bad sharing an apartment with a woman as beautiful as Aqua.

Terra mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? He was about to let two wacko strangers into his home, he should not be distracted by how pretty his potential roommate is! With one last unsure glance, he sighed and nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not-"

"Thank you so much!" Aqua cried, throwing her arms around Terra's neck. Terra stumbled backward from her sudden display of gratitude, almost falling over. He felt Aqua squeeze tighter and awkwardly returned the hug. Aqua laughed and pulled away, after kissing him on both of his cheeks, turning Terra beet red. Flustered, Terra turned his head away from Aqua and directed him gaze at anything that could distract him from the beautiful blunette. His eyes landed on the now empty pair of handcuffs laying on the table, when realization suddenly hit.

"...How on earth did you get out of those handcuffs?" Terra asked. Zack looked at Terra confused, than at Aqua, and than at the handcuffs.

Aqua shuffled awkwardly where she stood.

"I-I'm sorry. I just got excited and I guess I used my magic without realizing it..." She muttered, staring at her shoes. Terra and Zack just looked from the handcuffs to Aqua, then turned to each other and started to laugh. Aqua furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Unbelievable," Zack gasped between laughs.

"You're telling me," Terra replied. Of all people in the world for some magical knight and fairy princess to get dumped on them, it _would_ be just their luck to be those people.

"TERRA!" A loud voice called from the hallway. A spiky blond popped his head into the interrogation room's door.

"There's a really cute girl out here who needs a place to stay!" From behind the boy, there was a feminine gasp of shock, followed by, "But Ven I-"

"Well Ven," Terra said, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "Say hello to our new roommates, Aqua and Namine."

* * *

Sitting outside of the school building, Ventus sighed. He was tired, sweaty, and wanted to go home. Terra was supposed to pick him up about two and a half hours ago from track, since training started early for at his school. Being the star of the team required that he come early to training so his coaches could drill him twice as hard as the other team members, who would ignore his presence in resentment for his speed, endurance, and special attention from the coaches. One guy had hidden his water bottle(again) and Ventus hadn't gotten to drink anything the entire time. Not only that, but the previous week, some guy decided it would be a good idea to push his skateboard onto the track while Ventus was running, so that he would fall over and almost break his face on the concrete. Ventus left his skateboard at home from then on. Sitting on the stairs in front of the stairs, it began to drizzle. Ventus looked up at the sky, distressed.

"Ah, maaaan," He groaned, quickly jumping to his feet and taking off in the direction of the police station, which was closer to the school than the apartment was. By the time he was halfway there, the drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. Racing inside the building, he was greeted by the smiling, albeit surprised face of the station's secretary, Tifa.

"Hey Ventu-Why are you soaking wet?" She asked, the smile falling from her face, replaced with concern.

"It started raining on my way here. Do you know where Terra is?" Ventus asked, shaking the water from his hair with his hands. Tifa reached under her desk, pulling out a towel, and handed it to Ventus.

"He's in the interrogation room with Zack. When you find him, hit him for me, for leaving you out in the rain. Again."

"Will do. Thanks for the towel Tifa," Ventus gave Tifa a quick, two-fingered salute before walking down the hallway to the right while rubbing his hair and clothes down with the towel to dry himself as best he could. Deeming himself to be acceptably dry, he draped the towel over his shoulders, walking down the long hallway while whistling the classic "Steamboat Willie" tune. When he neared the interrogation room, a spot of white made him stop in his tracks. Said spot of white must have noticed him approaching, because she turned to face him, eyes wide with wonder and worry.

Ventus felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and his heart thump a little louder in his chest. A girl in a long white, albeit dirty, dress stood in the hall, standing my the window of the interrogation room. The first thing Ven noticed about her were her deep blue eyes. They looked so clear, and at the same time, so hazy, like a gentle mist swirled within them. The second think he noticed was that she was pretty. _Really_ pretty. The girl in white continued to stare at him blankly, so Ven flashed her a wide grin, and began walking towards her. He hardly noticed her sharp intake of breath as she raised a small hand to her mouth. He thought he heard her whisper something along the line of 'Soar,' but ignored it.

"Hi," Ven said, extending a hand, "I'm Ventus, but everyone calls me Ven. What's your name?"

Silence. The girl just stared at him, confused. The pair stood awkwardly for a while, before Ven shook his outstretched hand slightly. The girl in white noticed and looked at his hand, before giving him an even more confused look. Ven pursed his lips.

"It's a handshake," Ven explained, "Don't people usually shake hands when they meet each other?"

The girl tentatively extended a shaky hand, loosely holding Ven's fingers in her small hands, before shaking them from side to side. She looked to Ventus for approval. Ventus stared a little before laughing.

"Close enough," he chuckled. the girl blushed, retracting her hand and holding it to her chest. He didn't understand why, but Ventus' hand suddenly felt much colder.

Scratching the back of his head, he asked, "So, do you have a name? Or am I gonna have to call you 'cute girl' from now on?" Ventus grinned at the last part, while the girl flushed at his choice of words. Ven thought 'cute girl' definitely suited her.

"N-Namine," she mumbled, brushing some hair behind her ear nervously. While 'cute girl' still suited her really well, Ventus decided that Namine was a pretty good name too.

"Well Namine, what brings you here?" Ventus asked, eyeing the holes and patches of dirt in Namine's attire. Namine gave a half-hearted shrug before turning to the window to the interrogation room and pressing a hand against the glass.

"I'm not really sure..." She said, "But I'm also not sure where 'here' is."

Ven noticed how sad Namine seemed as she said that.

"Long way from home, huh?" He asked, stepping closer to her, so they were only about a foot apart. Namine either didn't notice or didn't mind, and just responded with a light nod. Ven looked through the window into the interrogation room, immediately recognizing the figures of Terra and his partner Zack, with an unfamiliar blue haired woman who was handcuffed to the table in the center of the room.

"A friend of yours?" Ven asked, gesturing towards the blue-haired woman with his head. Namine nodded.

Without warning, Namine started to shudder, and then break into tears. She quickly latched onto the front of Ventus' jacket, catching him by surprise.

"I want to go home," she cried pathetically, like a child on their first day of school. "I wish this never happened. I wish I never helped that lady, or was dumb enough to go near that well. I wish I had never got Aqua hurt, and I wish I was still at home, with Aqua and father, and Sora, and Marluxia, and everyone else!"

Ventus stood awkwardly in the hallway, Namine crying and clinging to his front, showing no signs of letting go anytime soon. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but Ven gently stroked his fingers through Namine's hair, whispering soothing reassurances of "it'll be fine," and "it's okay," into her ear. Namine further buried her head into his chest, but soon ceased her tears. She stared into space as she rested her head against Ventus' chest and listened to his steady heartbeat.

Suddenly realizing exactly what she was doing, Namine jumped backwards, ashamed. She had been so close to a boy she had only just met for reasons she didn't even understand. And she had _liked_ it. Blushing with the realization, she bowed her head in shame. Something about this boy just made her feel so at ease, like she was safe from everything in the world as long as she was near him. Sora had made her feel jittery and nervous, but this boy made her feel warm. She felt warm and safe and complete, which was strange for her to grasp, considering she had only just met him.

Ventus chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head with one hand, shoving the other deep inside the pockets of his shorts.

"So... you, uh, got anywhere to stay while you're here in Traverse City?" Ven asked, cringing as his voice cracked slightly. Namine shook her head without looking up.

"Well we should fix that then," Ven said, suddenly sounding much happier. Namine looked up out of curiosity to find Ven's gleaming blue eyes staring back at her, a prominent smile plastered across his face. Ven clamped down on Namine's wrist, and rushed to the door of the interrogation room, dragging Namine behind him at top speed. She stumbled and nearly toppled the both of them to the floor, but Ven caught her and hoisted her up with one arm.

Throwing the door open, Ven yelled, "TERRA!"

Three pairs of surprised blue eyes snapped towards him.

"There's a really cute girl out here who needs a place to stay!" He exclaimed, hugging Namine tighter to his side. She looked up at him, almost fearfully.

"B-but Ven I-"

The tall brunet, Terra he'd told her earlier, cut her off.

"Well Ven, say hello to your new roommates, Namine and Aqua."

Terra had to admit, the looks on Namine and Ven's faces were priceless.

* * *

A/N: I'm going to try to include as many Kingdom Hearts, FF, and TWEWY characters as possible in this, so feel free to mention your favorite characters you want me to include. They don't need to have showed up in KH, just so long as they are Square Enix characters.


	5. Once Upon an Old Friend

"Sire, there is an emergency!" All eyes turned towards Marluxia, who came charging through the dissipating castle wall from the gardens. Ansem stood from his throne, holding a hand up to quiet his guests.

"What is it Marluxia?" Ansem asked, beckoning him forward.

"The princess!" Marluxia panted, "She has gone missing!"

The room exploded. Royals jumped out of their seats, shouting accusations and expressing their fears of the worst.

"She ran away!" One shouted.

"Will we all go to war?" Someone questioned.

"Kidnapped! Kidnapped I tell you!" Another cried. Sora, who had been eating, dropped his plate to the ground in shock. He instantly ran to question the pink haired man, Vanitas slinked behind him, a smug expression playing on his face.

Ansem rushed to Marluxia, worry and fear prominent in his features, while the crowd was rioting. He turned towards the crowd and shouted, "SILENCE!"

The crowd hushed immediately.

"Marluxia," Ansem said, grabbing the man by his shoulders, "What happened? Where is my daughter!" Marluxia glared angrily over his shoulder.

"_She_ can explain."

A quaking figure cowered behind the pink haired man. Ansem released Marluxia and stomped angrily towards the pile of dirty brown rags. Grabbing he shaking figure by the shoulder, he hoisted them up to his eye level, glaring furiously into the face of the poor old woman who lead Namine and Aqua into the gardens.

"Where. Is. Namine." Ansem asked, fury lacing his words. The old woman gulped.

"I-I was searching for my grands-son. In the maze. Her highness and her knight offered t-to search with me, and we c-came upon this clearing. It was a strange clearing, I didn't like it, but I-I needed to find my grandson. There was this w-well in the clearing, a-and I heard him, my grandson, from inside of it. The Princess went over to look, and she just... slipped." The old woman explained. Ansem tightened his grip on the old woman's cloak.

"The knight. The woman with the blue hair. Where is she. She would never leave Namine's side, so she must know what happened. I wish to hear her confirm what you've said. Tell me where she is. Now." Ansem commanded. The old hag quivered in fear.

"She jumped in after the girl!" the hag cried, "She jumped in, and I went to go down and look in after them, I was going to call for help, I swear! But when I looked into the well, there was no sight of them, or my grandson! Not even a sound!"

Ansem dropped the woman with a growl. She cowered and covered her head with her hands.

"Marluxia!" Ansem barked.

"Yes sire?"

"Is what she says true?"

"I can't say sire," Marluxia replied with a sigh, "I didn't go with them to search for the boy, but I was brought to the clearing where this woman claims the Princess disappeared,"

"Search for them!" Ansem commanded, summoning a group of golden-armored knights.

"Marluxia, lead them to the clearing. If they are not there, then search the whole damned garden. Leave no leaf unturned. We will not rest until the Princess is found." Marluxia nodded, and lead the knights into the garden.

"We must send another group of knights into the well, bring the elite guard here!" Ansem called. "Everyone else is to return to their rooms! No one is to leave until the princess is found!" The royals were ushered out of the room by a group of armored knights.

"Sire," Sora said, "Please, let me go with the knights to find Namine! I can help!"

"Fine," Ansem said sternly. "But remember this, if you go with my knights, you will be treated not as a Royal, but as a knight, the lowest in their rank. You are to listen to their every word. Do you understand?" Sora gulped, but nodded.

"Your highness! The elite forces have arrived!" a golden-clad knight called.

A group of odd-looking men rushed in. There was a tall, thin man with spiky, red hair that resembled a hedgehog, a short boy with grey hair that covered one eye, a tall, muscular man with short, dark orange hair, a light haired man with an ear pierced, a woman with two antennae like protrusions in her short blonde hair, and a thin man with a light brown mullet. There were two more men, both tall with long, black hair pulled back in ponytails, only one man was larger with dreadlocks, and the other had two prominent scars on his face and an eye patch. It was the last one that really caught Sora's attention.

"Riku!" He cried, practically tackling his old friend in a bone-crushing hug. The taller, silver-haired boy looked startled for a moment, but smiled nostalgically before patting Sora on the shoulder and gently pushing him away, promising more explanation another time. Riku stood in a long line with the men, while Ansem addressed each of them.

"Xigbar," He called out. The man with the eyepatch stepped forward, smirking. Sora frowned. Something about this man made Sora uneasy.

"Xaldin," The big man with the dreadlocks stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Lexaeus," The other large man with the short, orange hair. He nodded silently.

"Zexion," The smallest boy, with the grey hair stepped forward.

"Axel," The man with the flaming red hair stepped forward. He gave Sora a wink before turning his attention to the king.

"Demyx," The guy with the mullet stepped forward, but looked distracted. Axel punched his arm, to which Demyx replied with, "Ow! What was that for Axel!"

"Luxord," The last man, with the earring stepped forward. Sora hadn't noticed it before, but he was expertly shuffling a deck of playing cards in one hand, like it was second nature to do so.

"Larxene," The lone female of the group stepped forward, an impish grin on her face. She too winked at Sora, only her wink didn't feel as friendly as Axel's did. Sora made a mental note to stay on this woman's good side.

"Riku," Riku stepped forward, looking as brooding and serious as Sora had remembered. The two boys had grown up together on Destiny Islands and were the very best of friends. When Riku turned sixteen, he had headed out for the capitol to get stronger and make more connections so that he could protect Destiny Islands, no matter what. Sora had missed him terribly.

"I have a very important mission for you all. We have just received word that my daughter has gone missing. According to a witness, she fell into a well deep inside the gardens. She and her knight disappeared inside of them, and have not been seen since. I task you with going into the well and searching for them. But be warned, we know not of the dangers that may lurk inside of the well, so be on your guard. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" The knights chorused.

"The young Royal, Sora, has asked to accompany you to find the princess, and I shall not deny him. You are to protect him and make sure he comes back alive and unharmed, am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" They repeated. Ansem nodded. "Marluxia will be your guide to the well, and he will accompany you in finding the princess-"

"What!" Marluxia shrieked. The blonde, Larxene echoed his complaint, and the two glared at each other. Axel and Xigbar snickered.

"As a former knight and caretaker of the gardens, you should have immediately escorted any intruders into the palace to be questioned, and under no circumstances should you have allowed my daughter to wander off with strangers inside of the castle walls!" Ansem shouted. Marluxia shrank backwards in a mixture of fear and guilt.

"As punishment, you are to search for her and act as a guide for your former brothers in arms, and I expect you all to be on your best behavior! **Do I make myself perfectly clear!**" Marluxia grumbled in agreement, and the knights stood straight as arrows. Sora shuffled awkwardly in his spot.

"Go now," Ansem commended, taking a deep breath to lower his tone, "We must find my daughter immediately. Go!"

With that, Marluxia led the group into the gardens, past the king and the elderly old woman. Sora spared her one last glance, a sudden, unexpected streak of fear running through his veins, as if ice coated his blood.

The old woman was smiling.

Sora blinked, and the woman's smile was replaced with sorrow, and remorse. Sora shook it off as a trick of the light, believing he was only seeing things yet... he couldn't shake that horrible feeling in his gut.

Dread.

* * *

"Well, here it is," Marluxia said as they neared the clearing. Axel peered over the edge of the well and whistled.

"Looks pretty deep. And...sparkly," Demyx and Larxene quickly shuffled over to examine it. Larxene cleared her throat and spit into the well.

Axel rolled his eyes, "Classy."

Larxene shushed him by punching him in the arm. After about a minute of silence, Larxene sighed.

"Real deep, I didn't even hear a splash," She grumbled.

"Maybe there's no water down there?" Demyx offered meekly. Larxene responded with a mocking laugh.

"Idiot, even if there wasn't any water, we'd hear it hit the ground," Demyx shrunk back, embarrassed. Larxene scared the shit out of him.

"Well, now what?" Zexion asked, walking over to examine the well.

"I guess we could send someone in first, to make sure it's safe," Axel suggested. Everyone looked at Demyx. It took him a moment to realized what their stares meant.

"Oh no, no way! I am not going down there first! You got the wrong guy for the job!" He cried, waving his hands and shaking his head frantically.

"Huh, wuss," Larxene laughed.

"Well, _someone_ has to go first," Zexion said, crossing his arms.

"Well, why don't _you_ go first then?" Demyx retorted. Zexion glared.

"Because _some_ people are more valuable to this kingdom than others!" Zexion huffed in return.

"Hey!" Demyx cried indignantly.

"Hey, cut it out you guys," Axel said, holding the two boys apart, "If we're gonna go by importance, well just send flower boy down first and-"

"Excuse me!" Marluxia gasped, "Did you just suggest that I was the least important person here on this mission?"

"Why yes, I think he did," Larxene jeered, a snarky smile gracing her lips. Marluxia huffed angrily.

"Well, I'd say ladies first, but clearly, there are no suitable ones present!" He taunted. Larxene inhaled sharply.

"Oh boy," Luxord said, smacking his face with his hand.

"WHAT!" Larxene shrieked, glaring daggers at Marluxia, who returned the look with a smug grin. If looks could kill, Marluxia and the next twenty generations of his family would be six feet under.

Sora stood baffled as he watched the 'elite' forces, the strongest knights in the entire kingdom, fight like two year olds over a toy. They were pulling each other's hair for light's sake!

"Sora," Riku called, pulling him off to the side, "Are you sure you want to do this? We have no idea how dangerous this could be, and you're too important to Destiny Islands and this world for anything to happen to you."

"Riku, I'll be fine," Sora assured his friend, patting him on the shoulder, "I've trained a lot since you left! I even trained with the strongest knight and mage in Disney Town!" Sora exclaimed happily. Riku couldn't help but smile a little. Disney Town was known for it's strong knights and mages, despite their...oddities. In fact, Mickey, the presiding Royal of Disney Town, was an old friend of his.

"Are you sure you can do this Sora?" Riku asked, planting a firm and on Sora's shoulder. Sora nodded.

"For Namine, anything."

"You like her a lot then?"

"Yeah," Sora said, smiling bashfully and scratching the back of his head. Riku grinned.

"Try not to talk to much then. You might scare her off."

"Hey!"

Riku laughed at Sora, and Sora pushed him playfully. Riku just laughed and caught Sora in a headlock, giving him a noogie. Sora yelled and wriggled in protest, but laughed nonetheless. It was good to have his old friend back.

Their good-natured roughhousing was abruptly put to an end as a terrified scream silenced all of the fighting. Riku immediately released Sora and both boys raced to join the rest of the group, who were standing around the edge of the well. Riku noticed that Demyx was no longer standing among his comrades. As the scream died out, Larxene glared at Maruxia angrily.

"Look what you did!" She yelled, shoving her index finger in Marluxia's face.

"Me? YOU were the one that pushed him!" Marluxia yelled back, smacking Larxene's hand away from his face.

"But he tripped over YOUR foot!"

"He did not!"

"He did! I saw it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did NOT!"

"Did TOO!"

"Enough!" Zexoin shouted, attempting to break the two apart. Unfortunately for him, he was much smaller than both Marluxia and Larxene, who were both far to angry to be reasoned with.

"Stay out of this!" Larxene and Marluxia shouted in unison, pushing Zexion out of the way. Zexion stumbled backward from the force and tumbled backward, into the well. His scream did little to distract Larxene and Marluxia from fighting. Rather, it did the opposite.

"Now look what you did!" Larxene shrieked.

"What I did? That was all your fault!" Marluxia retorted.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was TOO!"

As their fight grew louder and more intense, they began to get physical. Larxene was the first to throw a punch. Marluxia dodged in the nick of time and Larxene hit Luxord instead. Stumbling backwards from the power of the hit, he tripped on the edge of his robe and into the well after Zexion and Demyx.

Sora, trying to break the two apart, was also hit and pushed backwards. Before he fell, he clung to the nearest thing to him, in an attempt to stay grounded. That just so happened to be Riku, who was dragged into the well by his falling friend. The two screamed as they fell into the dark depths.

"This is ridiculous," Xaldin said, crossing his arms.

"I dunno, I think it's kinda funny," Xigbar laughed, watching the fight in amusement.

"Ok, I think I've had enough," Axel sighed. He dropped into a fighting stance and charged forward with a battlecry. Larxene and Marluxia, startled by the sudden noise, looked in Axel's direction, on the to have the fiery redhead tackle them both before leaping into the well, the two of them in tow.

"Woooohooooo!" Axel shouted, as Larxene and Marluxia struggled at his sides, shouting his name and several profanities.

On the surface, Xigbar cackled like a madman.

"That was great!" He hollered, clutching his stomach. Lexaeus and Xaldin just stared at him.

"Geez, tough crowd," Xigbar said, "I'm gonna head down too. Don't want to miss out on the action."

Xigbar casually waved to the two larger men and then jumped into the well. Xaldin looked at Laxaeus, who shrugged, and they both leaped into the well after their comrades.

After they had gone, a dark figure emerged from the brush where they were hidden.

The old woman appeared out of the shadows, looking around as if a monster were about to pounce on her from any direction. Sinister cackles rang through the clearing, and the elderly woman jumped inf fright.

"Bravo," they laughing voice called. A man stepped out from where he was leaning against a nearby tree, clapping.

"A touching performance, I nearly cried," He said. The old woman stood up straight, as if she had never had a hunchback in her life.

And she didn't.

"Vanitas," She called in a voice much darker and more sinister than it was before. The Royal in question stepped into the open clearing, his face illuminated by the moonlight.

"Maleficent," The woman's eyebrow twitched. Throwing up her hands, green flames erupted from the ground. Vanitas rolled his eyes. She was always one for theatrics.

As the flames died down, the woman's old, dirty, wrinkly exterior was replaced by a much taller, more sinister appearance. Her dirty brown rags were exchanged for regal black and purple robes, like silken bat wings draped around a skeleton. Her wrinkly, mole-filled face melted away to reveal a much younger, smooth face with a clear complexion, albeit slightly green. Her crusty, lumpy fingers and chipped nails were replaced with long slender fingers with razor sharp, claw-like nails.

"Oh come now, is that really how you should be addressing your mother?" Maleficent asked in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Why, do you prefer 'Mother Dearest'?" Vanitas scoffed. Maleficent frowned.

"After all of these years, our plan is finally about to come to fruition, so you had better not screw it up boy," Maleficent warned, dropping all fake niceties.

Vanitas laughed, "I won't if you won't, Mother Dearest."

Vanitas' smirk grew as Maleficent's frown deepened.

"If you do as your told, not only this world, but _his _world too, will be in the palms of our hands!" Maleficent cackled, barely acknowledging Vanitas' existence. She raised her hands high again, and the green flames erupted from the earth, completely obscuring her from the Vanitas' view. As the flames died, Vanitas was left standing alone in the clearing with only the echo of Maleficent's laughter and a smoking heap of burnt grass.

"Dramatic bitch," Vanitas cursed under his breath. A crow cawed loudly from a nearby tree branch. Vanitas laughed, then flipped his middle finger in the general direction of the crow before jumping into the well without a sound.

* * *

A/N: If you think about it though, Maleficent is like, the biggest Primadonna ever. She cursed a baby cause she wasn't invited to her birthday party for light's sake.

So Vanitas is a bad guy, surprise surprise. But I wonder who his dad-who-is-going-to-be-really-important-to-this-st ory is.

It's Ventus.

Just Kidding.

Hell of a plot twist if it was though.

Thanks to everyone who faved, alerted, and Reviewed, I really appreciate it and I'm sorry this chapter fell short of the 4000 word mark that I promised, but I felt right to end it here. But at least now everyone is in the same place right? Next chapter, there will be Terqua, VenNami fluffiness and awkward sexual encounters galore. There will also be a new character introduced, so look forward to it.

Kmouxe out.


	6. Once Upon a Shower

Terra pulled up to the building he shared with his brother and father figure, taking a quick glance at the tense passengers in the back of his car through the rear-view mirror. Aqua stared emotionlessly back at him and he sighed. Somehow, Terra got this feeling that the day was nowhere near over.

He parked the car in the alley next to the side door, stepping out and opening up the door for Aqua and Namine, who hadn't quite figured out how to handle a car properly yet. He guided the group up the fire escape stairs to a door leading to the second floor of the red, brick building.

The building itself was rather old, with dark ivy vines snaking up all of the walls in a chaotic pattern, but the structure was completely sound, and rather large and cozy with a classical gothic design. Terra's adoptive father said it used to be an observatory or something before he renovated it. Now, it was the 'Land of Departure,' a small time travel agency dedicated to helping people around the world. Whenever they weren't busy with police work, Terra and Zack would come help out however they could. Even Ventus helped out with the business. There really weren't many other buildings in the area, since it was a bit away from the inner city, but still within walking distance from the hustle and bustle of the busy downtown streets.

The door unlocked with a click, and Terra beckoned for Namine and Aqua to come in, Ventus already inside and headed for the refrigerator.

"I'll, uh, show you to your room," Terra said awkwardly. Aqua nodded, gripping Namine's hand firmly. Terra scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. They were acting like he was the monster that imprisons the princess in an old movie Ven used to watch when he was a little kid.

The three walked silently down the hallway that had never before seemed so long to Terra. Most of the second floor was open living space, with a kitchen, living room, dining room, and sitting area with no walls to differentiate the rooms. The only thing distinguishing the rooms from each other were the borders of the floors were tile met carpet or hardwood and vice versa. The only hall on the second floor was the one leading to the three large bedrooms and staircase to the guest room on the third floor. The staircase was well past any of the bedroom doors, in the center of a large circular room. All of the walls were covered by bookcases of hundreds of books Terra's adoptive father had collected over many years. Terra didn't miss how Aqua's eyes noticeably brightened when she saw all of the books along the walls.

"Follow me," Terra instructed, waving for the girls to follow him up the iron spiral staircase to the top floor, the observatory.

The dome-shaped room had a rounded ceiling made entirely of glass. It was originally metal, but it was rusted and damaged far beyond repair, so Terra's father decided to donate the still operational telescope to a university and replace the cold metal ceiling with thick, weatherproof glass that had an amazing view of the sky, 24/7.

The room itself was poorly furnished however, seeing as the boys rarely spent any time up there anymore with their busy schedules. A thick layer of dust coated the room like a layer of paint, and there was only one small bed with a hole-ridden pillows and a little lamp on a rickety little table.

Terra inwardly smacked himself. This certainly was not how he remembered the observatory looking, but then again, he hadn't seen it in a very long time. Silently cursing his luck, he turned back to the girls who were looking around the room with understandable worry. Terra ran a frustrated hand through his thick brown hair.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm sorry about the mess. Why don't you two go wash up and Ven and I'll clean up here a bit, so that you guys can sleep here without having to worry about dying of suffocation or anything. We'll go get better furniture and some things for you guys to wear tomorrow. For now, I guess Ven and I can lend you some clothes..." Terra trailed off.

Aqua looked down at her feet in shame.

"Thank you," she said, almost pitifully. To Terra, she looked like a little girl who had gotten lost at the park and embarrassed asking a stranger for help. Not knowing what to say, Terra patted her on the shoulder and descended the stair to go and get them clothes to sleep in. He heard them follow him down the stairs a few moments later.

"Bathroom's here," Terra said, gentle pushing a door open. He continued past it into Ven's room, a room full of weird trinkets and things Ven collected and found 'cool' over the years. The kid' room was always so messy, and Terra was positive that he never threw anything away.

Making his way to Ven's drawers, he pulled out a half black, half white t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts that looked like they might be small enough for Namine if she rolled them up. Terra pushed in the drawer and stumbled out of Ven's messy room, making his way to his own room across the hall. Hi room, while not as messy as Ven's, was littered with weights and training supplies. It smelled strongly of sweat and cologne, a scent Terra had grown used to and fond of. Pawing through his own drawers, Terra picked out an old black turtleneck sweater he didn't remember buying nor wearing. He held up the black fabric scrutinizing it. It would be small on him, but massive on Aqua. And finding pants small enough to fit her slim waist would be even harder. Aqua was tall for a woman, but Terra was still a good four or so inches taller, and a lot bulkier. Ven was too short to have anything that could fit, and his dad wouldn't appreciate Terra taking his clothes without his permission. Throwing the shirt over his shoulder, he continued to claw through his messy drawers in search of a pair of pants that might be small enough for the blue haired woman. His search was interrupted by a feminine squeal from the bathroom and the sound of rushing water.

Terra hopped to his feet and rushed out of his room and into the hallway, colliding with Aqua as she stumbled out of the bathroom, still clothed and dripping wet. Terra fell backward and landed on his back with a dull thud, Aqua landing heavily on his chest. Terra groaned in pain and looked down at eh bluenette, who looked back up at him. Each and every moment, she was beginning to look more and more like an innocent and fragile girl than a crazy strong, judo-flipping warrior.

Terra forced himself up, Aqua getting to her feet on her own accord.

"What happened?" Terra asked, rubbing his sore back. He was definitely going to feel that in the morning.

"It started raining," Aqua replied, wiping water from her brow.

"Raining... You mean the shower," Terra corrected, walking into the bathroom. Water from the shower was all over the floor, since Aqua hadn't closed the shower door. Namine sat looking confused on the toilet.

"Shower?" Aqua echoed in confusion.

"Yeah, shower. You pull this little lever thing here, and water starts coming out of the head," Terra said, pointing at the shower head still spraying water. Adjusting the water to a warmer temperature for bathing, he slid the shower door closed.

"So who's going in first?" Terra asked. Aqua and Namine stared blankly.

"Well, you can't go together, you won't fit."

More silence. Terra sighed.

"Alright blue, you first, since you're dirtier than the princess. go take your clothes off, and here's a shirt for when you're- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Terra jumped backwards, banging his already sore head against the wall, covering his eyes with his arms.

Aqua was undressing. Right there. Half naked. _And he was still in the room._

Aqua jumped, startled by Terra's sudden panic attack.

"I'm undressing, like you said," She replied as if it were no big deal.

"I meant undress _after_ I left the room!"

"It really isn't that big a deal Terra," Aqua said, continuing to undress. Before Terra could see any more, he grabbed Namine by the arm and dashed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Namine will be out here with me and Ven, just... put that shirt on when you're done!"

Terra felt very tired all of a sudden. He slump back against the wall with a loud sigh. Namine stood next to him, staring at his face.

"Terra, are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Your face is red," Terra swore he must've turned even redder than before. He covered his face with his hands and groaned. Namine giggled, a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

"What was all that noise about?" Ven called from the living room. From the sounds of it, he was playing one of his video games in the other room. Probably Epic Mickey or something.

"Nothing Ven," Terra replied flinching as his voice cracked slightly. Namine giggled again and Terra could practically hear Ventus raising a suggestive eyebrow at him. Terra gestured for Namine to follow him into the living room to relax until Aqua was done with her shower. The three sat around the television in the large living room, poking and prodding Ventus to 'mess up his game focus.' They hardly noticed the doorknob jingle and swing open as the final occupant to the large apartment entered.

Terra and Ventus' adoptive father.

The three only really noticed his presence in the room when he loudly said, "Playing games again I see."

Ventus nearly threw his controller half-way across the room and Terra fell out of his seat in an almost comedic manner. Namine watched the two boys trying and failing to regain their bearings with interest before turning to the newest arrival with curiosity.

He was a tall man, not quite elderly, but older than her own father. He had long, black hair tied back in a top knot, which, as far as Namine had seen, was unnatural in this world(not that it was natural in her own). His skin was tanned, and his face stern, and a long mustache with a soul patch to match. But the most striking thing about him where the scars on either side of his face. A long, thick scar stretched from the left side of his jaw to his cheekbone, and another thinner scar running directly over his right eye, though the eye itself appeared completely unharmed.

"Master Eraqus," Terra and Ventus said in unison, bowing respectfully. Eraqus nodded in acknowledgement. He turned his stern gaze on Namine, and she suddenly had the intense urge to flee, but at the same time, something about the man seemed safe. Fatherly almost.

"And who is this?" He asked, addressing Terra and Ventus without averting his gaze.

"This is Namine," Ven piped enthusiastically. Eraqus raised an eyebrow at him.

"She and her friend, an old college friend of mine, are new to the city and needed a place to stay for a while," Terra explained, "I told them that they could use our guest room, since they had no where else to go and we weren't really using the space."

Ventus wrinkled his nose at the false answer, but decided to trust Terra's judgement. The boys felt bad about lying, but they weren't really sure Eraqus would believe the whole 'princess and knight from another dimension' thing.

Eraqus stared intensely down at Namine for what seemed like forever, before saying, "Well that room is certainly in no condition for a young lady and her companion to be staying in. I will have it properly furnished at once. You and your friend may stay for as long as you need Namine," He smiled at Namine, a very kind and genuinely caring smile, that made Namine smile shyly back.

"Thank you," The mumbled gratefully, smiling at her toes. Eraqus patted her on the head fondly.

"Now, where is you companion?" Eraqus asked, glancing around the house to find them. As if on cue, Aqua walked out of the bathroom, wearing the turtleneck Terra practically threw at her earlier. Terra's face reddened at the sight. In his haste to retreat the bathroom, he had forgotten to give Aqua any pants.

The turtleneck was much too large on Aqua, and at the same time, not large enough. The collar hung loosely, her creamy neck completely exposed, and the sleeves dangled way past her small hands. The hem barely reached her mid thighs, ending at an enticing point where one could not tell whether or not she was wearing anything underneath, but they could easily find that out with the slightest movement in the wrong direction. Terra hoped for all things sacred in the world that she was wearing something underneath.

"Young lady," Eraqus said, clearing his throat, "Where are your pants?"

Aqua furrowed her brow at the unfamiliar man. Assuming him to be the other occupant of the apartment that Terra had told her about, she didn't question his presence.

"I wasn't given any," she replied. An awkward silence followed. Eraqus cast a questioning glance at his sons, who laughed nervously.

"I see," Eraqus said, raising an eyebrow at the young woman. "Terra," Eraqus called, without looking at him.

"Yes Master?" Terra said, his voice nervous.

"Would you be as kind as to retrieve some pants for this woman?"

"Yes Master," Terra made his way past his master and towards his bedroom before a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder, holding him in place.

"And Terra," Terra gulped.

"Yes Master?"

"Do try to get to work on time from now on."

Terra pouted and Ven started to chuckle.

"Yes Master Eraqus," Terra grumbled, shuffling off to his room to find a pair of pants for Aqua. He grabbed aforementioned bluenette by the wrist and pulled her with him towards his room. She stumbled a bit when he suddenly yanked her forward, and a subtle glance told Terra that she was, in fact, wearing something underneath the turtleneck.

Turning a deep shade of red and inwardly groaning, Terra slammed his door behind him and Aqua and sat down in front of his drawers with a loud 'hmph,' before angrily tearing it apart for a pair of pants.

Outside, Ven grinned to himself as his Master shook his head at his eldest son's behavior.

"Ventus," Eraqus said, looking at his younger son and pupil.

"Yes Master?"

"Perhaps you should show Namine to the shower. I do hope you have appropriate clothing laid out for her."

"Yes Master Eraqus," Ventus bowed respectfully and guided Namine to the bathroom. He picked up the pile of clothing Terra had left on the ground in the hallway and handed it to Namine before instructing her on how to use the shower. Judging by the befuddled look on her face when she had seen it, it was safe to assume that there were no showers wherever Namine had come from.

How they bathed, Ventus had no idea.

A few minutes later and Namine was out of the shower and fully dressed. Ventus had to admit she looked adorable in the t-shirt clearly much too large on her, with the ends reaching past her mid-thighs. The shorts he'd loaned her were rolled up so high, only a slim fragment of the grey fabric poked out from underneath the black and white t-shirt. Namine caught Ventus eyeing her outfit and blushed bright red, averting her gaze too her bare toes and fiddling with the hem of her borrowed shirt.

Light, she was way too cute for her own good.

Soon thereafter, a less aggravated Terra and a more clothed Aqua emerged from his room. Ven recognized the shorts she wore to be a pair of black gym shorts Terra had gotten a few years earlier, and had shrunk in the washing machine when he had tried to prove that he knew how to clean up after himself in his home just as well as he cleaned up after criminals in the street.

Terra wasn't allowed to help with chores anymore. How do you even manage to shrink so much synthetic fabric anyways? It was made to _not_ shrink!

The two girls remained in the living room of the apartment to answer a few of Eraqus' questions while Terra and Ventus went upstairs to tidy up the observatory enough to live in without dying of suffocation on a three inch thick layer of dust.

"So what is it like where you're from," Eraqus asked, resting his chin on his clasped hands. The trio was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking an herbal tea Eraqus had been gifted from an old friend in the Land of Dragons. Aqua sipped it thoughtfully, deciding she quite liked the taste, while Namine eyed the concoction warily, the strong scent wafting from the steam dizzying her slightly.

"It's... different," Aqua answered vaguely, as Terra had told her it would be for the best if as few people as possible in this world knew of the world she came from. No need to start unnecessary chaos and panic.

"Oh? How so?" Eraqus asked almost knowingly, like he knew the punchline to a great joke that he wasn't going to tell her anytime soon.

"It's brighter there. Less crowded. Kinder people," Aqua answered in as little detail as possible. As per code of honor, she could not lie, but she did not have to tell the full truth either. Eraqus chuckled softly however, and sipped his tea from his mug, engraved with the heart symbol trademark of his company. A square-ish heart with a cross made of what looked like four separate, elongated, diamond shapes connected at the points attached to the center of then heart.

"No need to be so secretive child, I already know you are not of this world," Eraqus said kindly, setting the mug down gently on the wooden table. Aqua widened her eyes slightly, and Namine looked worriedly at her friend.

"How?" Aqua asked in a quiet voice. This man who knew too much... he was starting to frighten her. How could he possibly know something like this? She was certain the only people whom she told the truth to were Terra, Ventus, and the black-haired man, Zack.

"Security cameras. They are in all of the interrogation rooms, along with microphones. Terra must have forgotten about them in the heat of the moment. You are quite lucky that I was the one monitoring the cameras since our guard was off sick, and we were short-staffed. I cleared the footage for you and your friend, and I am terribly sorry for all of the misfortune that has befallen you two. You may stay here for as long as you wish until you find your way back to your own word."

Aqua smiled gratefully at the older man. "Thank you Sir-"

"Eraqus," he said. Aqua smiled.

"Eraqus."

The two shared a silent exchange of respect, and Namine smiled at the peace. She delicately picked up her coffee mug and took a small sip.

It was much sweeter and tastier than she had anticipated.

The loud thumping of feet against the hardwood floor signaled the return of Terra and Ventus. Both boys were coated in a considerable layer of dust, and both were hacking up a storm as if they had just contracted pneumonia.

Which they might have. That room was disgusting.

"Well-cough cough-it's-cough-clean-cough," Ventus choked out, bursting into an uncontrollable fit of coughs. Namine stood up and offered her drink to him. He took it gratefully and chugged half of the mug down, before handing back the half empty mug with a satisfied sigh of relief. Namine giggled, and held the mug gently in her palms, sipping the remains shyly. Ventus flashed her a grin, and she blushed, looking down into the orangey-brown tea to dodge his gaze. Ventus' grin widened.

Light, she was so damn cute.

Aqua smiled dreamily at Namine and Ventus. She looked so happy with him. Then Aqua frowned. She looked so happy with him.

Ventus was a nice boy, and Namine would be lucky to ever find a bou like him ever again, but he wasn't from their world. He hardly knew anything about them, and the selfish Royals back home would certainly never accept an outsider like him to be their king if Namine decided he was the boy she had dreamed of her whole life. And what if she wanted to stay here with him?

Aqua shook her head, trying to shake off the serious thoughts. She was jumping to conclusions. Namine wasn't in love with Ventus, they had only just met. She's not used to being around boys, and she was only being polite and kind, like she had been taught her whole life. And if it turned out that Namine did have feelings for Ventus in the future... well, that would be taken care of then. But for now, Aqua was only grateful to have found such kind people to take her and Namine in so easily. Ventus, Eraqus, and...

Terra.

Aqua blushed. How peculiar. Aqua had never been particularly interested in anyone of the opposite sex, not to say she wasn't attracted to them, only that no one had ever really caught her eye. But Terra... He was different. He was so different in ways Aqua couldn't even describe. Perhaps it was only the excitement of recent events that had made her feel so conflicted about the man, that had made her stomach wring itself out and do fluttery backflips when he touched her so casually.

Light, she was turning into some infatuated preteen with her first crush. Wait what? She didn't have a crush, it was only the excitement of the happenings of the past few days. Yes. That was it. No romantic inclinations whatsoever. Only the heart-pounding, stomach-churning excitement of judo-flipping a stranger over your shoulder and suddenly living under the same roof as him. With Namine. Focus on the mission. Protect Namine.

_Cough!_

The loud, throaty sound of Terra's choking snapped Aqua out of her thoughts.

"Terra, are you ok?" Ventus asked, patting his brother on the back. Terra continued to cough furiously, and Eraqus watched in a mixture of concern and amusement. He eyed Aqua's teacup and looked her in the eyes. The hint was pretty obvious.

Aqua handed over the mug and Terra took it gratefully, downing the soothing liquid twice as fast as Ven had, giving out twice as loud a sigh of relief when he finished.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he handed the empty mug back to Aqua, muttering and awkward, "Thanks," his cheeks still flushed from the coughing fit. Aqua nodded and smiled politely in return.

"Well, I think that was enough excitement for one evening," Eraqus said, standing from his chair, "I think it is time that we all retire for the evening. Aqua, Namine, I hope you don't mind sleeping upstairs for the night. I know it is not very... accommodating right now, but I will have it prepared for the both of you by tomorrow."

"Oh, no, it's alright, I couldn't ask you to..." Aqua stuttered. He had helped so much already, she couldn't possibly ask for more. Eraqus just smiled kindly, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"I insist."

Aqua smiled gratefully and nodded. She waved goodnight to the boys and guided Namine up the stairs. The room was considerably cleaner, with no dust left on the floor or mattress. More pillows and blankets were laid out, and Namine immediately crawled under the covers and buried her head deep into one of the pillows. Aqua smiled and climbed in next to her, whispering a soft goodnight and giving the younger girl a quick peck on the forehead before they both drifted off into the beautiful world of slumber.

* * *

A/N: Yea! Hit the 4000 mark. Winning, like a boss.

Anybooboo budding relationships and sexual awkwardness, as promised. And before anyone gets confused as to why Aqua gives a lot of kisses, it's because in the 'magic world,' kissing is a very common expression of greeting, farewell, happiness, thanks, as well as love and affection. The kisses she gives Namine (and in the future, Ventus) are relative to those a mother would give to her child, while Terra gets some extra special smooches (oohlala).

I kind of base the 'magic world' off of Europe and such, cause that's were the original Disney movies were set and they're usually what you think of when thinking of fairy tales, so I kinda just went with it, and the whole 'friendly kisses' thing just kind of suits Aqua. Namine's shyer, so her kisses will be more sparse.

Hope you like~ Reviews are welcome, along with any questions, comments, concerns, criticism(constructive only! Flames will burn down my house, and since I don't run, I'll probably take too long to leave and die.)


	7. Once Upon a Redhead

Aqua woke to the smell of bacon and smoke. Mostly smoke. Immediately sensing danger, she leaped out from under the covers, yanking the pile of blankets off of her body, and by extension, Namine's.

Namine woke groggily from the sudden rush of frigid air, only for her nose to be assaulted by the sent of smoke. Both girls quickly rushed down the stairs, where a loud beeping rang through the apartment, and Ventus and Terra were shouting angrily at one another.

"I _told_ you you were supposed to flip them over!" Ventus shouted, frantically waving rags at the billowing cloud of smoke over the stove. Whatever he was trying to accomplish had little effect on the dark cloud, and he began coughing profusely.

"Well how was I supposed to know! It doesn't say anything on the box!" Terra retorted, scrambling around the apartment to open all of the windows.

"It's common sense! Who the hell _doesn't_ know that you're supposed to flip pancakes! And it says to flip them right here!" Ventus hollered, chucking the empty box of Mama Odie's pancake mix at Terra's head, which he batted away easily. Unfortunately, there was still a small amount of pancake powder inside of the box, and it exploded in a cloud of dust onto the nicely upholstered couch.

"Fuck! The master just replaced that couch!" Terra cursed, frantically trying to rub out the whitish powder from the couch's dark grey fabric. The rubbing only made it look worse. Terra cursed again, punching the couch angrily. Terra swiped the now empty box off of the floor, and read the directions furiously.

"It says to flip them when they're_ golden brown_! They were never golden brown!" Terra yelled, whipping the box across the room and trying to fan the black smoke out of the open windows. Ventus, who was doing the same, shot his brother a glare.

"Well they _were_ golden brown, but now they're BLACK," He replied sarcastically. Terra growled in frustration.

"Shut up! It's not like you could've done any better!"

"I have done better! I've cooked before _without_ setting the kitchen on fire!"

"Nothing good!"

"Better than yours!"

The two glared daggers at each other as they tried to salvage what was left of their pancakes and bacon, as Aqua and Namine stood in the entryway, gaping. Ventus noticed the two female inhabitants of the apartment and acknowledged them with a shy grin.

"Morning?" He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with one hand, weakly fanning the flames with a charred rag with the other. Terra grunted incoherently at their arrival, still fanning the now smaller cloud of smoke out of an open window. Ventus winked at Namine, who blushed and hid behind Aqua, but smiled shyly back at him.

"What's going on in here?" Aqua asked, astonished. The clean, beautiful kitchen she'd been drinking tea in the night before was now a complete mess, as if a tornado of smoke, kitchen utensils, pancake batter, and bacon grease had hit at full force.

"Well, we have this rule," Ven began, bunching up his rag and throwing it at Terra, who growled, but continued fanning the receding smoke, "that the last person awake on weekends has to cook breakfast. Since Master Eraqus left early to get some things for your room, Terra's alarm clock is still broken, and we figured you two probably don't know how to work a stove... Long story short, Terra woke up after I did."

Aqua started giggling, and waved a hand through the air. A sudden draft ran through the apartment and swept all of the smoke out of the window Terra was trying to fan it all out through. Terra froze, an expression of dumbfoundment on his face when he whirled toward Aqua, his face now expressing abject horror.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" he cried(almost literally) dropping his tired arms dramatically. Aqua laughed again and walked into the messy kitchen area. She turned the flame on the stove off and dumped the contents of pan Terra had been making pancakes in into the trash.

"Do you have any eggs?" Aqua asked, taking one of Terra's rags out of his hand and turning on the sink, like Eraqus had shown her the night before. She scrubbed the pan clean, then returned it to the stove. Namine had already begun to collect the garbage off of the counter and put it away. Ventus scrunched his nose in confusion but complied, pulling the eggs out of the refrigerator and a few other things Aqua had requested; salt, pepper, milk, garlic salt(she'd asked for garlic, and this was the closest thing they had), a whisk, cheese, some sliced ham, whatever bacon was left, and some bread. He, Terra, and Namine set the table as Aqua got to work in the kitchen.

Moments later, the four were seated at the dining room table, enjoying a delicious breakfast of omelettes and toast. Ventus had to toast it himself, as Aqua had planned on putting it in the oven before Ven showed the machine to her.

"So," Ven asked through a stuffed mouth, "How did you know how to work the stove? I mean, the shower gave you so much trouble last night, and the stove seems more complicated than the shower. I mean, look at Terra. He's lived in this world his entire life and he _still_ has no clue how to use it!" Terra stopped inhaling his extra large serving of eggs to quickly smack Ventus on the backside of his head. The smaller boy's head nearly flew into his food from the force, which wasn't really that much considering who it was that hit him. Namine giggled. It looked like Ven hadn't completely missed his plate of food, as small clump of egg and cheese stuck to the tip of the blond's nose. He looked at her and flashed her a grin, making her giggle more profusely, and hand him a napkin.

"Well," Aqua said, resting her elbows on the table and folding her hands together to rest her chin on, "I learned last night from Eraqus that there are a few things our world shares with yours. For instance, while the technology in your world's stoves are much more advanced and reliable, they are not so different from the ones we have back home. The main difference is that we channel magical energy from the earth and ourselves into our machines, and as for the shower, well, back home, we have large bathhouses with water drawn from the fountain of youth."

"Wait, the fountain of youth is _real_?" Ventus interrupted, wiping the egg from his nose.

"Yes, it is. And so are many of the other things that this world considers myth. Like my magic for instance, or princesses like Namine," Aqua answered. "Though, the fountain itself can't actually grant immortality, it only makes you look the same age forever. You'll still die from any natural cause, like sickness or old age. The bathwater we use comes from an outlying spring, where the water from the fountain has been diluted enough that it's effects are dampened to only fading wrinkles and making the skin smooth, elastic, and youthful after every bath."

Ventus made a small 'huh' noise, finding the information fascinating, if nothing else. Aqua smiled nostalgically.

"It seems that many things from our world are legend here. Perhaps the ancient texts could have actually been true..." Aqua muttered, mostly to herself.

"Ancient texts?" Terra questioned, wolfing down the last few bites of his omelette.

"Oh, nothing, just... talking to myself," Aqua replied, waving it off like smoke in the air. Terra raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off, chugging the remains of his milk.

"Well," he said, placing the glass heavily on the table with a satisfied sigh, "this all sounds like one of Kairi's fairy tale's to me."

Ven coughed, "Um, yeah, Terra, speaking of Kairi-"

Ventus was interrupted by the loud bang of the door as it swung open, revealing a pretty, red-haired girl around Namine's age standing at the entrance.

"I SMELL FOOD THAT ISN'T POISON. WHOEVER SHE IS, MARRY HER BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE," said redhead called, strolling into the house as if she lived in it. She rushed over to the table, inches from Namine's face, examining the other girl. Aqua tensed, and prepared to flip the girl out of a window, before she cracked a huge grin and strangle-hugged Namine, squealing, "SHE'S SO CUTE!"

Namine squeaked in surprise, blushing at the compliment and proximity of the stranger. Aqua stared, baffled. Terra facepalmed and groaned.

"Ven, didn't I tell you to warn me when Kairi comes over?" Terra asked, rubbing his temples. Ven grinned sheepishly.

"I was gonna, but I kinda forgot after you set the kitchen on fire."

"Wait, you set the kitchen on fire?" Kairi started laughing, pointing at Terra and clutching her stomach dramatically, like she had just heard the greatest punchline in the history of the world. Terra cursed under his breath. Damn Kairi and her selective hearing.

"Why are you here Kai?" Terra asked, cupping his face in his palms. His bad day was turning into a bad weekend, and was deteriorating a rapid rate.

"Well, you see Terra," Ven cut in, before Kairi replied with some snarky comment, "Since I thought we kinda needed a girl's input on what to buy girls, I figured who better to ask than a girl?" Ven said almost reluctantly, scratching the back of his head in a manner that Namine had noticed was a bit of a trademark of his.

"Kairi hardly qualifies as a girl Ven,"

"Hey! I resent that statement!"

"C'mon, play nice you guys," Ven said, crossing his arms in an almost pouty way. Terra and Kairi sighed exasperatedly, but complied nonetheless, with a melodramatic, "Fiiiiiiiiine."

"Anyway, is this the girl you were telling me about? The cute blonde one? Cause she's definitely cute!" Kairi gushed, happily examining Namine from across the table. Namine blushed and looked at Ventus, who was blushing as well.

"Kairi! That was supposed to be a secret!" Ventus whisper-yelled to his red-haired friend, leaning close to her ear. She just grinned and said, "Whoopsie-daisy~" in a sing-songy voice. Ventus groaned in embarrassment and buried his face in his hands. Namine blushed and suddenly found the surface of the wooden table very interesting, as she was staring at it intensely enough to make it burst into flames just by thinking about it.

Ventus thought she was cute?

Namine blushed harder at the thought and started fiddling with the hem of her shirt. The shirt Ventus lent her. She blushed again.

Kairi grinned at the both blondes' embarrassment, finding it both amusing and full of potential.

"But I hear you two need a new wardrobe," Kairi said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Aqua gave Kairi a suspicious look, replying with a, "Yes..." full of equal suspicion. Kairi squealed gleefully, jumping up and down rapidly, clapping her hands together.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she cried, grabbing Namine and Aqua by a their wrists and practically dragging them out of the door. Before she could rush through the threshold, she froze. Kairi pulled a complete 180, marching up the stairs with the other girls in tow.

"But first, let's get you guys into normal clothes, not PJs," Kairi declared, toting the girls up the stairs and out of Terra and Ven's sight.

About half an hour and one long, awkward silence later, Kairi bounded down the stairs, mock-formally addressing Ventus and Terra like the host of some talent show.

"Gentleman and boulder-brains,"-Terra frowned at the obvious dig in his direction-"May I proudly present: Miss Namine and Aqua!" Kairi bowed dramatically, a big sweeping hand gesture towards the hallway, and rushed backward off of the 'stage.' Namine and Aqua both stepped into the room, slightly confused, and a bit awkwardly.

Red blossomed across Ventus' face as Namine stepped timidly out of the shadows. She was wearing a frilly sundress with a light pink floral pattern over a white fabric background that most definitely belonged to Kairi. The dress hugged her curves in a complimentary, but conservative fashion, and ended a few inches above her knees, showing off her long, slender, pale legs, which ended with a pair of brown moccasins on her dainty feet. A long, mocha colored sweater draped over her slender frame like a blanket, and Kairi had added a matching pink, flower headband to top off the outfit, because Kairi thought "It would just look so cute on her!"

Ventus simply couldn't figure out how one girl could be so adorable.

Meanwhile, Terra gaped, mouth open an wide eyed, at the provocative outfit Kairi had brought for Aqua to wear. The black jeans were high-waisted, reaching past her naval, but were so tight that Terra could've swore they were simply painted on. The white tank crop-top was hardly anything more than a bra, the words 'Do not touch' printed(and distorted) in block font across her ample chest. The half-sleeve, black cardigan helped slightly, but did little to hide the bountiful cleavage Terra was staring at. At least Terra wouldn't have to look down, pretending not to stare at it, since the black, ankle-high, lace up heels Kairi brought easily gave Aqua enough height to match his own massive build.

"Where the _hell_ did you get those clothes Kairi?" Terra exclaimed, staring at the redhead in confusion and horror. Kairi pursed her lips at him.

"Hey, I like that dress!"

"Not the dress, the _other_ stuff," Terra exclaimed, exasperated.

"Mmmm, well, I actually borrowed them from a friend of mine named Paine. By friend of mine, I mean friend of Zack's. And by friend of Zack's, I mean Zack's weird, kinda goth cousin. These were the normal-est clothes I could find in her closet and she was the only tall girl that I knew. But still, she isn't really as tall as Aqua is, I mean, she's almost as tall as Terra! I'm just happy that they have the same shoe size!"

Terra gave Kairi a questioning glance. "How did you get into Paine's closet?"

Terra had met Zack's somewhat estranged cousin before when she came to drop some things of for him at the station with her two odd friends, Yuna and Rikku. The two girls were so bubbly and giddy compared to the grounded, broody Paine that Terra had absolutely no idea how they were friends. Terra knew though, that behind that cold, somewhat harsh exterior, Paine was a good person.

He also knew that she would tear any unwanted snoopers in her house limb from limb and considered the only non-trespassers to be Yuna and Rikku.

Kairi just looked at Terra blankly, before her mouth morphed into a Cheshire grin.

"Ways."

Terra decided it was best not to question the mischievous redhead for the sake of his own mental health.

"Well enough with the chit chat," Kairi exclaimed, hooking her arms under Aqua and Namine's elbows, "We have shopping to do!" Kairi practically carried the two confused girls out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to the fancy red convertible waiting below. Terra and Ventus shortly followed suit.

Kairi hopped over the car door and into the drivers seat, starting up the engine. She beckoned for Namine to join her on the other side while Aqua hopped into the back. Terra frowned.

"Kairi, I don't think we're all going to fit," he stated. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"The back has three seats, we'll fit just fine. And I don't want to sit next to you boulder brains, you'll just critique my driving the entire time!"

Terra frowned at the quip. "I'll just take one of our cars-"

"The Master took the keys," Ventus piped, striding past Terra towards the shiny red car.

"But-"

"Quit being a baby and just get in the back!" Kairi snapped, honking the horn for emphasis. The noise startled Namine, who nearly jumped out of her skin at the noise. Ventus laughed, and for what seemed like the billionth time since they met, Namine blushed. Kairi almost missed the exchange in her irritation at the stocky brunet who was being _far_ more difficult than necessary. "Not getting any younger or smarter Rocky, so let's go!"

Terra scowled, but otherwise obeyed, opening up the car door and sliding in next to Aqua, Ventus having already hopped in on the other side. He slammed it shut in irritation, only to be berated by Kairi saying, "Don't mess up my car! What are you, six?" which caused Terra to scowl even further.

The ride to the mall was something of a production. Terra pouted in the backseat like a little kid who got his toys taken away, but was especially awkward toward Aqua, whom he was pressed up very close to due to the lack of room in the back seat. The worst was when Kairi almost missed a turn and made a sharp right at the last minute without slowing down. Aqua had practically fallen on top of him, and Terra gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn away as her chest pressed against his arm. She apologized, but that didn't keep Terra's face from lighting up like a Christmas tree. He didn't respond, so Terra hoped Aqua didn't think he was mad at her. Judging by the somewhat hurt/guilty/kicked puppy look in her eyes and how she kept avoiding his gaze however, it seemed as if that was the case.

Crap, now he would have to apologize.

After and unusually long, arduous ride to the closest shopping mall, Terra found himself carrying two dozen bags filled with hundreds of dollars worth of clothing, freshly bought and heavier than one could imagine clothing could weigh. The changing room he and Ven were waiting outside of had only one seat and, as expected, Ventus easily beat him in a race for the chair. The blond plopped down in it victoriously, and made it very clear that he had no intention of trading off, _especially_ after the whole breakfast fiasco.

So, for a torturous hour and a half, Terra stood dumbly, carrying a thousand pounds of women's clothing, waiting for a magic knight and her little princess to try on all of their clothes picked out by the wicked witch of the Kairi.

At this point, Terra was absolutely positive that gingers had no souls.

Inside the dressing room, Kairi giggled as she peeked through the curtains separating the empty area outside of the dressing room to the well furnished inner chambers. The room was round and filled with plush, comfortable seats and cushions, the actual changing areas curtained off.

Dropping the think, hot pink material, she turned back towards the shaking curtains that contained Namine and Aqua. Kairi scrunched her nose. She was slightly confused as to why two full grown women would have so much trouble simply _putting on_ clothes. Come to think of it, it was also kinda odd that they didn't have any clothes in the first place. Or wore any make-up. Kairi shrugged, concluding that they must've lived someplace really remote without any malls or people or anything.

Kairi's eyes brightened. Maybe they were forest people! They could teach her the ways of the wild, surviving in the harsh wilderness.

Aqua and Namine shared concerned looks as Kairi giggled and mumbled to herself, her hands shaking excitedly.

Aqua cleared her throat to get the daydreaming redhead's attention. Kairi promptly spun around, snapping out of her (slightly outrageous) thoughts and inhaling sharply.

"It looks great!" She exclaimed, happily examining the girl's attire. She quickly rushed over to adjust thick elastic bands on her wrists from where the sleeves constricted the skin. The shirt was made of navy blue fabric. It was a form-fitting, puffy bell-sleeved turtleneck with a black lace-covered opening in the front and black lace connecting the bell-sleeves to the 'sleeveless' turtleneck. A pair of simple, dark-grey jeans finished the outfit off, Aqua still wearing the shoes Kairi borrowed/stole from Paine.

Namine's outfit was much brighter; a white, peter-pan collared dress that buttoned from the collar to the hem. There was a sheer, white, lacey top layer, and a silky, cream-colored under-layer, the buttons, collar, and cuffs all a cozy light tan. Kairi had swapped her moccasins for a pair of coffe-colored Mary Janes and a pair of vintage, frilly, ankle-socks in an off-white. Scrutinizing Namine's outfit with a displeased expression, Kairi snapped her fingers and grinned, quickly darting out of the dressing rooms only to race back in a few moments later, clipping a brown bow barrette with cream-colored lace to the side of Namine's head.

"Perfect," Kairi declared, putting her hands on her hips with a satisfied sigh. Namine reached a hand up to prod at the barrette, only for Kairi to quickly lash out and smack her hand down. Namine yelped like a kicked puppy, retracting her hand to her chest quickly. Kairi pouted her lips. "I just said 'perfect', didn't I?" Aqua rolled her eyes.

A loud, happy tune filled the dressing room and Kairi pulled out a small device, a phone Aqua'd been told, from her purse.

"Hello?" Kairi asked, holding the small black rectangle to her ear, "Oh hey Selph! How's it-WHAT!" Kairi's angry scream caught Namine by surprise, and she squeaked in shock. Aqua tilted her head curiously as Kairi yelled angrily into her phone. "Where are you? Where is HE? _Where is SHE?_ I'll be right there. DON'T. MOVE."

Tapping the screen of her phone, Kairi tossed it angrily into her purse before charging out of the dressing room, dragging Aqua and Namine behind her by their wrists.

"Get up, we're leaving," Kairi commanded. Ventus stood up immediately and Terra let out some sort of noise of relief.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Ventus asked, standing up and grabbing all of the bags he'd been carrying.

"No, everything is _not_ ok," Kairi hissed, slamming a wad of bills on the cashier's counter and dragging her friends out of the store, ignoring the protests of the clerk and the sounding alarm system. "Selphie called. Seifer just felt up Olette and now he and Hayner are fighting. I'm gonna go break it up, so we have to call it a day." Kairi grumbled, her pace increasing slightly. Ven perked up slightly at the name of his friend, peeking around his pile of shopping bags. Kairi caught the worried look in his eyes and narrowed her gaze threateningly.

"No Ven, you can't come with." Kairi said, rifling through her purse to find her keys, giving a small, triumphant laugh as she yanked them out.

"Why not!" Ven insisted, "They're my friends too!"

"Because Seifer bullies you enough already and you have guests to attend to," Kairi replied somewhat irritably. She hated when Seifer acted up and _resented_ the fact that the asshole had a big enough crush on her to listen to what she said, never failing to send her off with some creepy sexual advance. Ventus pouted the entire ride home, but didn't press the matter when Kairi bid the group farewell when she dropped them back off at the apartment.

Eraqus was waiting for the group in the kitchen when they arrived. He greeted his pupils and guests with a fatherly smile.

"Welcome home my sons, and to Aqua and Namine as well," Eraqus said, rising from his seat at the table. "Come. I have something I wish to show you."

Eraqus, a knowing twinkle in his eyes, led the group up the spiral staircase and into the observatory. Namine gasped loudly and Aqua's jaw slacked.

The observatory looked like an entirely different room than the night before. Two canopied beds with ornate designs sat on either ends of the round room, covered in luxuriously designed bedding and throw pillows. Gold trim was everywhere in sight, along with beads, shells, geometric patterns, and deep, sensual colors. A low couch bordered half of the room, bed to bed, and was covered in similarly designed pillows of various sizes, shapes, patterns, and colors. Lamps from around the world were scattered around the room. A long, ovular coffee table stood in front of the long sofa, candles and decorations scattered across the patterned surface. The other side of the room had tall wardrobes, an incredibly intricately designed vanity, and dressers, a large television mounted on top pf the dresser directly across from the couch. Geometric, animal fur, fuzzy, furry, shaggy, short, long, big, small, and colorful rugs overlapped the entire floor in a harmonic chaos that complimented the room nicely. The final, and possibly the most beautiful thing in the room was the massive crystal chandelier hanging above the center of the room, directly above the staircase Namine and Aqua were still standing in, gawking.

"I got most of the furniture from an old friend of mine in Agrabah," Eraqus began, walking over to one of the beds and stroking a beautifully carved bedpost with utmost care. "He called in the cavalry as soon is I mentioned I needed a favor," Eraqus joked. Aqua and Namine both looked at him in awe. He must have done some incredible things to have people willing to make _this_ for him-for them.

"Those lights over there," Eraqus pointed to a pair of lights standing nearby one of the beds, "Came from the Land of Dragons, in the far East. And the Vanity, the wardrobe, and the chandelier-" Eraqus motioned up to the masterpiece of crystal above their heads, "-came from an old friend of mine, a proprietor of a castle once scheduled for demolition." Eraqus chuckled lightly as Namine wowed in fascination. The chandelier reminded her so much of the ones her father loved decorating his castle with. It made her smile with nostalgia, remembering the fresh memories of a ball not so long ago. She turned to Eraqus, running at him and enveloping in a tight, grateful hug. Eraqus blinked in surprise, but smiled fondly and returned the hug gently, Aqua joining the hug soon after.

"Hey," Ventus said, looking around the room, slightly baffled. "How come my room isn't this nice Master?" Eraqus' smile dropped into an expression the definition of 'are you serious?' Terra frowned and bopped Ventus in the back of the head.

"Way to ruin a moment Ven," Terra pulled Ventus down the stairs as he, Eraqus, and the girls parted for the night, heading off to his own room, perplexed as to why he couldn't get the image of Aqua's happy expression out of his head.

* * *

A/N: God that shitty ending. Once we get passed the boring intros and crap, I swear it'll probably get better.

Thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! It means a lot.  
Special thank you to **_TheFirstTrio_**(who has a totally amazing story called_ Girl of Steel_ that you should read) for you're constant encouragement kind words!


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